The month of October brings falling leaves and autumn colors of reds and oranges. Now October brings a new color: pink.  

It’s breast cancer awareness month and for some of the Guilford community, that means wearing pink to show support for those who had or are currently battling breast cancer. 

Fall athletes in particular make an effort to recognize the cause throughout the month.

On the football field, the players wear pink armbands, pink socks, pink shoelaces, and pink wristbands. Senior Captain Bradly Gayhardt thinks participating in breast cancer awareness month is particularly important.

“Such a vast majority of people have cancer, yet there are a lot of people who think, ‘Well no one has it in my family’ or ‘I don’t have it’ so I think it’s important that we get awareness out there,” said Gayhardt. 

Gayhardt, whose aunt is a breast cancer survivor, encourages all of the Guilford community to get involved with breast cancer awareness month.

“I just wish everybody would participate, even just by doing something as simple as wearing a pink wristband to show support,” said Gayhardt. “It seems pretty easy.”

Another senior captain, Christopher Jessup, thinks that being in the spotlight is beneficial in encouraging others to participate in breast cancer awareness month.

“People watch athletics … we get a lot of attention,” said Jessup. “So if people are watching us, why not show support for a great cause like breast cancer at the same time?” 

The volleyball team also deems it important to contribute to breast cancer awareness month. 

Every October, they host a “dig pink” game in honor of breast cancer awareness month. This year, it was on Oct. 4 and the players sold pink Guilford t-shirts and accepted donations for the cause.

Sophomore Kia Tracy, volleyball defensive specialist, thinks that breast cancer awareness month presents a great opportunity for people to help out a vital cause.

“I think it’s important for Guilford athletes and students to participate in breast cancer awareness because you never know who is dealing with cancer and it’s always a good feeling to know that you helped get one step closer to finding an immediate cure,” said Tracy. 

Having known a volleyball teammate in high school that lost her aunt to cancer, Tracy found breast cancer awareness month to be a light at the end of the tunnel in the tragic situation. 

“It was very hard for her to get through that, but knowing that we worked to raise money for the cause helped her cope,” said Tracy. “She knew that we were supporting her.” 

The women’s soccer team values the cause and also supports it. During their home game on Oct. 12, they wore pink warm-up t-shirts in honor of breast cancer awareness. 

“For Homecoming weekend, we’ll be wearing pink socks and hopefully, in the beginning of the game they will announce something about breast cancer awareness,” said Senior Captain Rachel Harman in an email interview. “Our team is extremely excited to show our support.”