The Ohio University nursing class of 2013 has the whole campus dancing for breast cancer awareness in hopes of leaving a legacy beyond just being the first in their program.
The senior nursing class held up signs stating “I dance for Cheryl” and “I dance for Denise” in a video they entered into the national Pink Glove Dance Competition that will be released for voting Friday.
After they were assigned the video by assistant professor Eliza Harper for a community health class, the seniors probed nearly every group on campus to participate in their project.
They followed the swim team to the Aquatic Center, where they videoed the group dancing with pink gloves underwater. They caught the Marching 110 in action during an afternoon practice. Now, they’re vying for votes on their college version of the Pink Glove Dance to raise money for a charity of their choice.
“I didn’t expect it to be as huge as it ended up being, but I’m so glad that it was,” said Brittney Snyder, a senior studying nursing and coordinator of the project.
“I’d say a quarter of these people have been directly touched by this cause.”
Denise Cribben, administrative staffer, and Cheryl Brimner, administrative coordinator, in the School of Nursing have both battled the lethal illness in the past decade, making the project an even more emotional one for those who are close to them.
“It was very emotional for me because it brought back a lot of memories that have been repressed,” Brimner said.
Brimner, who has worked at OU for almost 14 years, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, the same year her coworker, Cribben, was first diagnosed. After recovering from 12 weeks of chemotherapy topped with reconstructive surgery, Cribben was diagnosed again almost three years after her initial diagnosis.
“(The video) was very heartwarming. It was the first time that people besides my coworkers were doing something for me,” Cribben said. “It’s one thing for the nursing and medicine departments to participate, but for the other groups to join in shows that everyone has been touched by this.”
Brimner and Cribben both appear in the video, dancing with their fellow staffers in Grover Center.
“They felt good to know that we were recognizing them. It was a way for us to have a voice,” Snyder said.
Last year’s contest mobilized about 140 groups to participate around the country, but not many of those groups were affiliated with educational institutions. The senior nursing class is hoping to not only be the first graduates of their program, but a winner of one of the three monetary prizes offered by the Pink Glove Dance: $10,000, $5,000 and $2,000 respectively for the top three placements.
They’re also hoping that the video will fight against OU’s notorious drinking reputation and prove that there is more to the campus than a vigorous nightlife.
“It really bothers me that every time you hear about OU in the news, it’s always something negative.” Harper said. “But getting students involved in the video shows that this campus is capable of so much positive.”
oy311909@ohiou.edu
