Male models sashayed their way down the runway for charity at the third annual Think Pink: Lee Denim Men’s Fashion Show on Oct. 27.

The California Lutheran University event promoted Lee Denim Day, a nationwide fundraiser started by the Lee Company 20 years ago. It helps raise funds for the American Cancer Society for breast cancer research.

The event was put on in a collaborative effort between 11 resident assistants as a part of their programming for the fall semester. Originally put on by former RA Jaynessa Lopez, the event has continued to grow over the past three years.

Miguel and Dorton said Cal Lutheran, where passions, purpose and community are promoted, enabled Lopez to create an event she proved to be passionate about.

“We carry on that passion [Lopez had] within our staff and we carry it on throughout campus and it’s really nice to be a part of it,” Miguel said.

Junior Charisse Palaad, who lost her grandmother to breast cancer, was especially proud to be part of this year’s event as she co-hosted along side Dorton and Czarina Gutierrez.

“Being able to create the event and put it on was really awesome because then I could actually be apart of it,” Palaad said.

The event was filled with humor as the 13 models strutted their stuff, showing off their pink clothing for the night. The  RAs that helped put the event together wanted to make it fun, but they also made sure to make the cause the headliner of the night.

The event started with Gutierrez stating facts about breast cancer and followed with a moment of silence for those battling cancer and for those who have lost their battle.

According to cancer.org, there is an estimated 231,840 women and 2,350 men that will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. An estimated 40,730 are estimated to die from it in 2015.

“It’s definitely something that effects people both emotionally and physically. It’s nice to know that here at CLU there is a support system … to show you that even though it’s a scary time in someone’s life, we’re still here,” Miguel said.

Andy Hanson, coordinator for Residence Life and Student Conduct for Trinity Hall, has been a model since the start of the event.

“All of these students are coming together. By having this big event and bringing some attention to it, it then leads people to resources that can help them out, [like] cancer screenings,” Hanson said.

The event included free refreshments and cookies for attendees, as well as four raffle drawings throughout the show. The night also included musical performances by Cal Lutheran students Nolan Forghani and Natalie Kalamdaryan, who both performed original songs.

The band, The Funky Shebangs, made up by Lauren Hesterman, Torrance Klein, Sam Morton, with Chris Vazquez on vocals, helped end the event with their rendition of the Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive.”

All the RAs involved had a chance to strut their stuff on the runway for the last walk of the night.

The fashion show raised $169.75 through ticket sales and donations. All of the proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

“We have doubled our attendance. We had twice the performers and we even increased the number of models that we had, so I say it was definitely really successful,” Miguel said.

Sarah Hernandez
Staff Writer
Published November 4th, 2015