Campus Rallies Around Relay for Life

On Friday, April 28, Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) hosted the annual Relay for Life event in Cordts PE Center. The event is held to raise a significant amount of money to then donate to The American Cancer Society and its efforts to help fight against cancer. Most student organizations, as well as other groups, come together as teams to compete and to see who can raise the most money to donate over the spring semester.

Kicking off at 6 p.m. with the Opening Ceremony, Phi Mu Alpha sang the National Anthem. After opening remarks, the CAC started the night off with a survivor lap around the gym to honor those who have fought against this ugly disease. Joining them on the second lap were their caregivers–those who stood beside and helped them through the fight. By the third lap, most people in attendance had joined on the track, walking together. For the rest of the night, a member from each team had to be on the track walking laps, a reminder that cancer never takes a minute off.

At 7 p.m. the Survivors were invited to participate in FSU’s annual Survivors Dinner. At the same time, FSU challenged Salisbury University to see who could raise the most money within the hour; by 8 p.m. Frostburg had beat Salisbury. Meanwhile, organizations set up all throughout the gym, trying to raise money at the event by fundraising creatively. Sigma Alpha Epsilon had “Pie an SAE”, while brothers from Phi Mu Delta volunteered to shave their heads for donations.

The Luminaria Ceremony took place around 9 p.m. Arguably the most moving part of the night, those in attendance joined together at the front stage to remember those in their lives affected by cancer. As different relationships were identified, i.e. “your sister…your brother…your aunt…” members of the crowd cracked their glow sticks and held them high in the air. At the end, people were urged to look around them and see how cancer has impacted us all. Then, as a group, everyone participated in two silent laps around the gym.

Around 10 p.m., Beautiful Lengths from Pantene arrived and made it available for those who were willing to donate their hair. Many girls had been waiting since last Relay to participate in this again. At the same time, Zumba was going on, on the main stage.

When asked what their favorite part of Relay was, Senior Madison Fell said, “I think people like participating in Relay because it’s the least we can all do to help. I can’t be in the hospital with those who are fighting, but I can be here walking and raising money to help with the fight.”

By midnight, the closing ceremony had started. Kathy Espinoza, Secretary of CAC, was grateful for all that participated. She explained, “although we did not reach our initial goal, we weren’t too far behind, it just gives us more incentive to fundraise for next year.”

Midday on Saturday, the event had raised $32,076.

For more information on Relay for Life, visit:

https://secure.acsevents.org/site/SPageServer/?pagename=relay