The sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha invited Duke campus to release emotion by hitting a pink car last Friday.
The sorority held their annual fall Smash Bash to benefit breast cancer awareness on the main quad as part of a larger two-week effort. The event featured a donated junkyard car painted pink that people could smash for a donation and a yogurt-eating contest. There were also t-shirt and baked goods sales as well as sign-ups to vote for Big Man on Campus at the event and at a table on the Bryan Center plaza the week leading up to the event.
Sophomore Nikki Rigl attended the event to show her support.
“It was lot of fun to watch the student get rooted on by their fellow peers and the smiles on the face of the students who were able to dismantle a piece of the car to take home as a souvenir,” Rigl said. “I was sad I missed the yogurt-eating contest which many of my friends took part in. It was apparently epic."
At the national level, the sorority partners with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Yoplait to make the event possible. At Duke, the Delta Tau Delta fraternity partnered with the sorority and grilled food for participants.
“Everyone came out—all ages, Greek, non-Greek and there were even some parents there,” said sophomore Jessie Smit, member of Zeta.
The sorority will continue to table this week to gather donations and to promote the Think Pink football game on Saturday where they will hand out flowers for breast cancer survivors, ribbons and shower cards to teach women how to do self-examinations.
“It is really important that women know how to examine themselves because a lot of women don’t catch [breast cancer] early enough," Smit said. "It’s a lot less serious if you catch it early."
There was also a Dig Pink volleyball game last Wednesday that similarly promoted breast cancer awareness.
“On the athletics side of things, we really see that as an avenue to reach out to a lot of people,” said sophomore Jordan Miller, Smash Bash and Pink Tea co-chair of Zeta. “This is the first year we had a volleyball game as part of our Smash Bash week, and our presence at the football game this weekend will be bigger than in the past. We’re hoping to continue working with athletics throughout the year and sponsor Think Pink games for various other sports."
Miller plans to expand the Smash Bash event in the future to involve more groups on campus, including athletic teams or student groups. Miller and her co-chair, senior Stormie Leoni, began efforts to achieve this goal by expanding the Big Man on Campus competition from just fraternities to selective living groups as well.
Other additions to the event this year include a silent auction, wristband sales in the Duke bookstore and handing out gifts for survivors at their table at the football game. The football game is also a week after the Smash Bash instead of the weekend before like last year in an effort to spread out the sorority’s philanthropy efforts to make the chapter and its cause more noticeable on campus.
The event raised approximately $600 in 2009 and $10,000 in 2010. The goal this year is to beat that and make between $12,000 and $15,000 by the end of the two weeks.
“The event was well run and seemed like a success," said sophomore Chris Bogdan, who attended the event. "It was a good mix of fundraising for a cause and having fun.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.