A sea of pink flooded the gym during the City High girls basketball game against Jefferson on Friday night. The Pink Out theme honored  those who have fought and will fight Breast Cancer.

“I think it’s a reminder of what breast cancer has the capability of doing, and how people have the capability to beat breast cancer,” Eddy Galstad ‘16 said. “ I think [Breast Cancer Awareness day] is more in memory of that, but it’s also to make people mindful that breast cancer is still out there and it still takes lives.”

Having a Pink Out at the girls’ basketball games doesn’t just affect the students attending City.

“I think it makes sense to have a Pink Out at the games because lots of people from the high school and from the community will come to the games,” Claire Rutherford ‘16 said. “Pink Out helps raise awareness for breast cancer throughout the community.”

However, recognizing the capacity of breast cancer is just the beginning of the opportunities for spreading awareness. There are other events which City High could implement to raise the response.

“I would like to see [the City High administration] get the information out a bit sooner, so more people would be aware,” Jan Grenko, coach of the City High freshman girl’s basketball team, said. “Maybe they could have some sort of place people could make donations to the cancer society to help the cause as well.”

Rutherford agrees that consciousness of this special event could be improved.

“The school could promote awareness even more by having [a Pink Out] also during the school day, so that even people who don’t go to the basketball game know about it, too,” Rutherford said.

While the event instills optimism, it also celebrates the triumphs of people who have seen the other side of breast cancer.

“My grandmother and my great great aunt had breast cancer,” Galstad said. “It was a scary time, but [my grandmother] had strength and pulled through. She’s fully recovered now, and she’s cancer-free.”

Grenko has had her own experiences with the influence of breast cancer in her life.

“I’ve had several friends who have been touched by breast cancer, so it always feels like I honor them when schools make that choice to try to make other people aware,” Grenko said. “It also makes me more likely to support some of those causes.”