Student Activities, a Leadership Education and Development intern and volunteers have been selling autism awareness ribbons in memory of Scott Hawkins, the student killed Oct. 21 in his suite at the American River Courtyard residence hall.

“It is always a terrible tragedy when we lose a student,” said Karlos Santos-Coy, coordinator for leadership education at Student Activities.

The fundraiser, which was planned to take place for one week only, Nov. 9-13, has been extended to include another week, Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, in the University Union.

The project was a fundraising event to raise awareness for autism, a developmental disability that affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.

Hawkins had Asperger’s disease, which the Autism Society of America said is a milder case of autism with fewer difficulties in speech and communication.

Unlike people with severe cases of autism, people with Asperger’s disease do not usually have delays in speech development and often show interest in developing relationships with others.

In addition to remembering Hawkins, Ellen Cesaretti, senior English major and LEAD intern, hopes to make a difference in the autism research.

All the proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated on behalf of Hawkins to UC Davis’ Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute for autism research.

According to the UC Davis MIND website, the institute strives to understand the causes and develop treatments and cures for neurodevelopmental disorders.

The fundraising event was developed by Cesaretti. Cesaretti has been working with autistic children since she was 10 years old.

As the coordinator of the fundraiser, Cesaretti did not set a monetary goal for the fundraiser because the main goals were to unite the campus community after Hawkins’ death and bring more awareness to autism, she said.

“From my personal experience, the best action one can take to provide healing for the community is to connect the loss with hope,” Cesaretti said.

The fundraiser raised approximately $240 from Nov. 9-13 and the presentation of the check will be Dec. 15 at a MIND institute board meeting, Cesaretti said.

Like breast cancer ribbons, the autism awareness ribbon has meaning in its colors and pattern.

The cards given out to donors explained that the multicolored puzzle piece pattern on the ribbons reflects the mystery and complexity of autism.

There were signs and posters throughout the campus urging students to donate to the cause. The signs also displayed quick facts about the disease, such as boys are more likely to have autism than girls.

As a member of Alpha Chi Omega and friend of Cesaretti, Michelle Frank, junior liberal studies major, signed up to work at the booth.

Cesaretti contacted the sorority because it also raises money for autism awareness.

“Ellen contacted us because of our involvement with the cause,” Frank said. “And we decided that we should work for the common cause and raise money together.”

What made the fundraiser more approachable to students was how little they needed to donate, she said.

“It’s only a dollar,” Frank said. “It’s such a small contribution per person, but it does benefit someone and you are giving a giving a gift to someone else.”

What makes the story so tragic, Santos-Coy and Cesaretti said, is Hawkins was a good student who was living above his disease.

Through the fundraiser, they hope the community will remember Hawkins as someone who overcame the disease.