Hanging outside of Wallis Annenberg Hall are two sparkling red ornaments. Anyone walking by would think they were simply an effort by the university to ring in the holiday season.
However, a closer look reveals a QR code sitting in the center of the ornaments that directs people to a website titled, “Raising Awareness for Breast Cancer.”
Every year Professor Mark Marino tasks his Writing 340: Advanced Writing for Social Sciences class with creating a community engagement project that gets them thinking outside the box. This year, the topic was breast cancer awareness.
“We wanted something that would capture people’s attention,” said Azka Sattar, the project manager and a senior majoring in psychology. “It’s for everybody. It’s for faculty, it’s for students, it’s for everyone who is on campus and seeing these.”
One of Marino’s students said her interest in the topic was sparked after speaking with a friend who had a breast cancer scare. She found a study by the American Cancer Society that found Black women have a 40% higher rate of death from breast cancer despite the fact that they have a 4% lower rate of breast cancer.
This statistic became a catalyst for the class project, and students rallied together to raise greater awareness about breast cancer by using festive holiday decor to direct people to a website where they can learn more about breast cancer risks, prevention and ways to get involved.
Students also recorded testimonials from people with breast cancer, which will soon be uploaded to the website.
“Seeing an actual person speak about their own experience holds a lot of weight,” said Cameron Green, a senior majoring in psychology and juvenile justice. “It urges people to understand that this could happen to anyone and how important it is to just take simple steps to take initiative and help yourself.”
Marino and his students hope not only to raise awareness about the inequities of breast cancer, but also to provide young people with the tools to conduct self-examinations and get tested.
“Part of it was realizing that this could genuinely build habits that would potentially save lives or at least help people live healthier lives longer,” Marino said.
By asking students, “What do you think you could do to make some kind of impact,” Marino said he believes projects such as this give students the space to think critically about unique and creative ways to spread information.
“Initiatives to do things on the ground are definitely more effective,” said Rohan Bhave, a senior majoring in biochemistry and president of USC’s American Cancer Society chapter. “Convincing one person to make better lifestyle choices makes a huge difference.”