During your recent walks through Washington Square Park, you might have noticed chalk drawings of pink ribbons with the words “Zeta Thinks Pink” circling the fountain — just one effort from NYU’s chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha, which has spent the past month increasing breast cancer awareness.
Though philanthropy is a consistent pillar of the panhellenic organization, ZTA dedicated the month of October to raising money for breast cancer treatment and research and educating the NYU community on what preventative care looks like, from doing self-checks every month to getting yearly mammograms.
For Steinhardt senior Victoria Voigt, ZTA’s vice president of philanthropy and service, it was both her own mother’s journey with breast cancer and the chapter’s hands-on approach that has driven her involvement in the sorority since her first year at NYU.
“Philanthropy is such an intricate part of any sorority — but especially in ZTA, it takes a really big role in our activities and a lot of the things that we do, ” Voigt said. “But throughout the entire month, we’ve been doing online fundraising, whether it’s on our Instagram Stories, posting a graphic or sending out emails. I think how important the sorority makes it for us to be involved in it is really important to me.”
ZTA has both participated in local breast cancer fundraisers and hosted events of its own. Kicking off its “Think Pink” movement, the sorority ran a small bake sale outside of Washington Square Park before holding its main fundraiser “Big Man on Campus,” a male beauty pageant where NYU students dressed up and competed to win the “Big Man” title.
Many ZTA members’ dedication to the nationwide movement is driven by their personal connections. Liberal Studies first year Adelaide Warren was compelled to rush the sorority based on her family’s history with breast cancer.
“My mom had it and my grandmother had it,” Warren said. “So connecting all the things ZTA was doing with my own personal experience was really heartwarming.”
The sorority also recently worked the survivor’s tent at the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Central Park, where members listened to stories from both survivors and current patients and gave out goodies and sashes with the words “Survivor” or “Thriver.” By highlighting the voices of survivors and their families, ZTA aims to make breast cancer awareness not just a campaign, but also an ongoing conversation.
“I got to meet a lot of really cool women who had survived breast cancer and their treatment, and they were sharing so many stories,” Warren said. “It was really touching to listen to them.”
Voigt said that ZTA’s efforts have also served as educational experiences for members.
“I learned a lot of things about breast cancer, like how one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime,” Voigt said. “Realizing that someone who I’m sitting with in a chapter room may eventually be faced with breast cancer pushes me to be involved for this cause. We want to turn that one in eight to none in eight.”
Contact Shreeya Goyal at [email protected].