Students 'Think Pink' at Barnard Night

The Light Blue gymnasium turned into a sea of pink Friday night as the Student Government Association and the College Activities Office teamed up with the women’s basketball players to raise school spirit and awareness about breast cancer.

The third annual “Barnard Night”­—an effort to encourage school support of the women’s basketball team—joined the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s nationwide breast cancer awareness campaign, “Think Pink.” The event also commemorated Barnard President Judith Shapiro’s final days before retirement.

Kicking off with a pre-game tailgate dinner in LeFrak Gymnasium, where Barnard students entered a free raffle for Metrocards, meal plan points, movie tickets, a $200 airline voucher, and the grand prize of an iPod Touch. Attendees received nametags with pictures of pink ribbons, tables were covered in bright pink tablecloths, and Barnard’s Well-Woman health organization set up a table to educate students about the importance of detecting breast cancer early.

“We really want to use it as an occasion for educating our students about the importance of breast self-exams,” Well-Woman director Karen Winkler said. “We have a DVD here, we have a breast self-exam model, to really educate Barnard students and the Columbia women who come over.”

Both the Columbia basketball team and its rival, Dartmouth, wore pink t-shirts during warm-ups as a show of support for the cause, and many players had pink shoelaces.

In the spirit of the night, Shapiro was introduced with mascot Roar-ee and honored with a basketball before tip-off. She sat on the Columbia bench throughout the game, joining team huddles during time-outs and high-fiving players as they returned from the court.

Half of the game’s ticket sales will go to breast cancer research.

“Raising awareness of breast cancer is a huge undertaking ... and we’re just very, very happy to be a part of it,” Columbia head coach Paul Nixon said. “It’s really something that’s unifying all of women’s basketball and allows you to take part in something much larger than yourself. Every once in a while things happen that put basketball into perspective, and this is one of those nights.”

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