Written by Sarah Kyle
At the beginning of this month, Jack Shock and 17 of his students gathered in the Honors House to bake cookies, bond, champion a cause and “Think Pink.”Shock, professor and chairman of the Department of Mass Communication, said he wanted a way for his freshman honors class to socialize and above all, serve. In searching for a worthy cause, Shock was reminded of the National Breast Cancer Awareness campaign in October.”I thought: Wouldn’t it be fun if we did a project that put a pink pen in the hand of every professor on campus and said ‘As you grade your papers during the month of October, please consider grading them in pink ink so that when students receive a corrected paper, they’ll get a memory jolt about the need for awareness about breast cancer’?” Shock said.After approving the idea with Jeff Hopper, dean of the Honors College, the “Think Pink” campaign was born. On Oct. 1, Shock and his students mailed 300 pink pens with personal letters asking Harding faculty to promote breast cancer awareness by grading in pink.Shock said the project had an additional benefit: giving his freshman students an opportunity to bond and make friends.”We had a chance to be together and be social,” Shock said. “I’ve noticed a distinct difference in the classroom since that night.”Freshman Max Michael said Shock’s enthusiasm for the project spread to the students in the class.”Awareness is the first step. To quote G.I. Joe, ‘Knowing is half the battle,’ ” Michael said.Michael said he hopes students and anyone who comes in contact with “Think Pink” will go beyond the pink ink and spread breast cancer awareness to the women in their lives.”‘Think Pink’ involves everyone. It’s a grassroots kind of project, but we want people to get involved. It’s not that hard,” Michael said. “It’s as simple as talking to your mom or other women you care about. Though it might be a small step on the awkward side of the line, it could save their life.”Faculty member Lisa Burley said she was “thrilled” to receive her pen and uses it every day to start a conversation with her students about the disease.”I teach one section of grammar and writing and told my class that I would be grading in pink this month,” Burley said. “I asked them if they knew why and one student guessed that was because of Breast Cancer Awareness month. I’ve reminded them about it a couple of times.”Burley said breast cancer awareness is crucial because the disease is so prevalent in America and the world today. She learned about the condition firsthand, with many friends and family members diagnosed throughout her life.”I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t know about breast cancer or know someone who has battled through it,” Burley said. “Every year, someone I know personally is diagnosed. Some survive and some do not. Breast cancer is not an abstract disease that’s ‘out there.’ It has affected people I know and love for as long as I can remember.”While awareness is the first step, Burley said she encourages students and friends to take the cause a step further.”Everybody can do something,” Burley said. “Wearing pink and using pink throughout October is a wonderful way to raise awareness to the extent of breast cancer’s impact on our world, but please don’t let it stop there. Find a way to make a difference in someone’s life so that all of us can someday have a world without breast cancer.”
