The phrase “feel your boobies” took on a new meaning for Shippensburg University following a breast cancer awareness rally held Monday.

Bras Across Campus, an event sponsored by the Feel Your Boobies Foundation, will take place at six central-Pennsylvania universities as part of a movement intended to motivate young adults to become better aware of their own bodies. SU was the first campus to host a Bras Across Campus rally.

The evening began at 7 p.m. with music, crafts and refreshments before the SU cheerleading squad performed a special cheer in honor of the festivities.

SU communication/journalism professor Kim Garris introduced a breast cancer awareness video produced by SU alumni Julie Ratcliffe and Holly Harrar.

The video featured testimonies from several women who stressed the importance of checking your breasts frequently for changes that may be cause for concern, no matter what age you are. These women shared details about their own battles with cancer and how it transformed their lives.

“Just because cancer seems like something that happens to people much older it doesn’t always happen that way,” Garris said.

One survivor from the video said she is glad that this has happened to her. She said she can have a positive effect on people by helping other young women detect breast cancer early.

Breast cancer survivor Leigh Hurst started Feel Your Boobies when she designed a T-shirt with the words, “Feel Your Boobies.” She shared the design with friends and family. Before long, Hurst’s design went viral and then she launched the Feel Your Boobies Foundation into a national campaign.

“The T-shirt was just an idea I had that came out of a place of passion and purpose,” Hurst said.

Following Hurst’s testimony, as well as another survivor’s speech, SU’s WSYC radio general manager James Bailey and director of the Women’s Center Stephanie Erdice announced the winners of the prize baskets donated by student media and Colleges Against Cancer.

Afterward, audience members formed a large circle around the Ceddia Union Building’s multipurpose room to hold up the chain of bras donated by SU students over the past weeks, representing the large number of women affected by breast cancer.

“This event really inspired me and made me feel like I should probably go out there and feel my boobies now,” said Kelsi Hillahan, an SU student and PRSSA member.

Although a $500 donation goal was set for SU, Bras Across Campus raised approximately $2,400 for the Feel Your Boobies Foundation.

“Feel Your Boobies started out as my story, but it is not just my story — it is the story of every woman who has breast cancer,” Hurst said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making some of the dreams I had in the beginning of the year come true.”

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