Pink pride

Gresham Community School was not afraid to show its pink side Friday as a weeklong observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month wrapped up. Most of the students and many staff members were decked out in pink, the color showing support for those who are battling or have survived breast cancer. Besides colorful T-shirts, some students sported pink mustaches, pink hair and pink tape on their faces. Teacher Newell Haffner wore a pink tie that stood out from his dark suit and resulted in some good natured ribbing from Superintendent Keary Mattson. “I know we’re all supposed to be wearing pink today, but a pink tie? Really?” Mattson said. Throughout the week, students have been donating $1 per day for the privilege of doing things normally forbidden in the classroom, like wearing hats and having cellphones and iPods. Teachers also contributed for the right to wear jeans each day, according to student council adviser Troy Kuhn. A count Friday morning showed the school raised $357 for breast cancer research. “This wasn’t for any one particular person this time,” Kuhn said. “We just wanted to do it to make people aware of breast cancer. I know a lot of other places are doing it, and we just wanted to jump on the bandwagon and be one of those schools that are aware and support.” In 2010, the most recent statistics the Centers for Disease Control has available, almost 207,000 women and more than 2,000 men were diagnosed with breast cancer. Almost 41,000 women and 450 women died from breast cancer that year. Lindsay Anderson, secretary for the student council, said she had an aunt who passed away from breast cancer. She also knows other people, including a longtime Gresham teacher, who have succumbed to breast cancer. “It’s good that we’re helping out the community and it’s a good thing to have the kids donate,” Anderson said. State Rep. Gary Tauchen, R-Bonduel, was at the school Friday for an assembly recognizing it as a School of Recognition, but he took a moment to praise the students for coming out strong for breast cancer awareness. “Breast cancer is something we’ve all gone through,” Tauchen said. “We all have a mother or a grandmother or a sister who has gone through it.”