Teal shines under the Friday night lights as students swap their usual green and white gear for teal ribbons, bandanas, necklaces and denim patches.
This year’s ‘Teal Out’ theme at a Palo Alto High School football game on Sept. 26 was organized jointly by the Paly Women’s Health Club and Paly Responsive, Inclusive, Safe Environment (RISE) club, to raise awareness and support for sexual assault and ovarian cancer survivors.
Ivy Hardy, senior and president of Women’s Health Club, said she organized this event to carry on the tradition her sister started three ago, because ovarian cancer is personal to her family. Since they lost a loved one to the illness, Hardy aims to educate students about the dangers of ovarian cancer through this theme.
“In women’s health, these issues are not talked about a lot,” Hardy said. “Ovarian cancer is often called the silent killer because the symptoms are very hard to detect until it’s too late, and one in 40 women has ovarian cancer.”
Leilani Chen, Paly junior and president of the Paly RISE club, also played a pivotal role in this event. She said that while consent is a widely held principle, it can sometimes be forgotten.
“I think consent is something that every person values … but sometimes it can be something that’s lost,” Chen said. “It’s just about communicating and talking about how you feel and what you want.”
