For much of November, green bins located across campus were filled with bras to be donated to Paxinosa Elementary School and West Ward families.
Lafayette for Reproductive Autonomy, Justice, and Empowerment (L-RAJE) and Lafayette Fashion Society (LFS) collaborated to host the bra drive from Nov. 2 to Nov. 29, with a discussion panel held on Nov. 9.
“A lot of the times when clubs are co-sponsoring events, it’s just a discussion, [and we] never really see tangible results from that,” Julia Pilaitis ‘24, president of LFS said. “So we just wanted to have the bra drive to be able to have those results.”
According to Lehigh Valley Live, 100 families with children in the Easton Area School District are homeless, 25 of which send their children to Paxinosa Elementary School. Many families are not counted in the tally because they do not want to ask for help.
“It was important as one of our overall club missions to become more integrated with the Easton community,” Charlotte Vierling ‘24, the president of L-RAJE, said. “So many times Lafayette is seen as this extraneous, rich, privileged body on the hill that’s really different from the Easton community, who oftentimes feel a disconnect with us.”
The bins were available before and after Thanksgiving break, allowing students to bring items from home to give away. By the end of the donation period, 70 bras were donated to the cause.
“[It was] way more than we expected,” Pilaitis said. “And we’ll be dropping them off this weekend.”
In addition to collecting bras for local Easton families, L-RAJE hosted a fundraiser at Mojo 516 Cafe on Nov. 21. Ten percent of the profit from all purchases made at the cafe between 11 p.m. and 2 p.m. on that day were donated to the Undies Project, an organization that has provided over 438,000 pairs of underwear and bras to people in need.
L-RAJE and LFS also led a discussion, “The History of Bras as Women’s Restriction Yet Freedom” to further the conversation.
“I wanted to focus on … how bras historically have empowered women … versus how bras have historically restricted women,” Vierling said. “LFS was incredibly helpful in planning the event and coming up with specifically the women’s liberation sides in the talk.”
The panel consisted of presentations by Vierling, Pilaitis and Emily Mackin ‘24, along with interactive activities and group discussions.
“People talked about what [bras] meant to them individually,” Kyra Reese ‘25 said. “Some people talked about how a bra is … restrictive to them. And then other people were talking about how it brings a sense of security.”
Vierling said that while doing research in preparation for the discussion, she learned that 71 percent of women are insecure about their breasts. This means that “they are less likely to receive regular cancer screenings and do self-checks for breast cancer,” she said.
L-RAJE will continue advocating for reproductive accessibility with Get Tested Tuesday on Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m. At this event in the Fairnon Atrium, students can participate in a sex-ed game to win Mojo gift cards and then be bused to local STI testing centers.
