“Tie the Nott” weds fundraising and public awareness this week as the Nott Memorial is wrapped with a colossal pink ribbon, thanks to the efforts of a team of students led by Lis Sartori '07 in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The ribbon went up Monday morning, and the event will have its official convocation on Friday, Oct. 13, 4 p.m., in one of the Minerva Houses (to be announced) during Homecoming & Family Weekend, bringing breast cancer awareness to Union students, their families, faculty, staff and guests.
For Sartori, who was in third grade when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, it is only fitting that the giant pink bow, the universal symbol of breast cancer, will hang from the College's most well-known symbol.
Sartori, who brainstormed the fundraising idea with her mother, hopes to raise as much as $30,000 for the American Cancer Society by asking donors to buy a section of the ribbon, anything from an inch to a yard. The bow itself cost some $4,000.
More than 40,000 American women will die from breast cancer this year.
“Breast cancer is a disease that touches everyone,” said Sartori, a 21-year-old art history major. She enlisted a dozen other Union students, all women, to help with the event.
“This is a way to bring awareness of breast cancer and other women's issues to the forefront. The Nott is central to the campus and synonymous with the city of Schenectady, so hopefully many people will see the ribbon and become aware of the cause.”
Those wishing to contribute to the cause should forward their donations to: Tie the Nott, Student Activities, 404 Reamer Campus Center; make checks payable to Union College, Tie the Nott.