Author: Arielle Darr
From 10 a.m. on April 4 to 10 a.m on April 5, over 800 students came together to participate in Oxy’s 3rd annual Relay for Life. In conjunction with the American Cancer Society and Colleges Against Cancer, Oxy has held this event since 2006 to increase cancer awareness and raise money for cancer research. With over $52,000 raised, this year’s Relay for Life proved to be the most successful held at Oxy thus far.
As a relatively new event at Oxy, Relay for Life has progressively become bigger. After seeing last year’s relay Jennifer Lara (sophomore) decided to become involved. “Two of my good friends were on the committee last year and it seemed like they really enjoyed it. I went to the event last year and was very impressed by how many Oxy students participated and how enthusiastic everyone was even at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning after walking all day,” Lara said. “It just seemed like a great way to get involved in finding a cure for cancer and spreading awareness.”
While each year Relay for Life consists of several student teams raising money and coming out for a 24 hour event, 2009’s Relay for Life was even bigger and better, according to Relay for Life Event Chair Dawn Gruber. “We raised almost $10,000 more this year then last year. We had approximately 300 more participants and they were more enthusiastic, and passionate for the cause,” Gruber said.
With 54 teams, 20 Relay for Life committee members and many students coming out to show their support, there was a lot of activity on Patterson Field. “Teams ranged from groups of friends to sports teams to Greek life. We even had a Oxy Student Affairs team composed of Oxy administrators. They raised close to $1000 with an on-site fundraiser.” Tents lined the field, each with themed posters and stations to create awareness about specific types of cancer like cervical cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and skin cancer. While some team members walked around the track, others listened to the DJ, played various sports and games and participated in many scheduled activities.
Events throughout the day included tug-o-war, a frozen t-shirt contest, a watermelon eating contest, Pantene hair donation, video games like Rock Band, energy drink pong and various fun walking laps like backwards lap and scrabble lap. “Our two main events were the Miss Relay pageant and Relay Idol. The Miss Relay pageant is basically a beauty pageant for guys and Relay Idol was our version of American idol,” Lara said. There was even a silent auction with the grand prize of #1 room draw card going for $550. “All the events ran smoothly and all participants made it a very successful day,” Gruber said.
After a full day of activities, the annual nighttime Luminaria Ceremony was held to commemorate both victims and survivors of cancer. These Luminarias, some decorated with names of cancer patients, were set up around the field and in the stands to spell the word “HOPE.” The ceremony culminated in all Relay participants collectively taking a lap around the track as a bagpipe was played.
“The sense of community at Oxy was apparent even in the morning,” Marcus Stoiber (senior) said. “Talking to people as we were walking around the track brought out a lot of stories and connections.”
“I could not have asked for a better Relay For Life event,” Gruber said. ” Given the current economic situation, we were able to raise nearly $10,000 more [than last year] as well as get more food and entertainment donated. The planning committee has worked extremely hard all year to put on this event and they are so proud of Oxy stepping up and giving it all they had.”
Although the event was extremely successful, there is so much more to be done. “Relay For Life is one 24-hour event. We do amazing fundraising, education and have fun at the same time. However, fighting against cancer is a 365 day a year battle. We want all students and participates to take the Relay passion use it to do what they can to fight back against cancer!”
With this year’s event finished, Oxy students anticipate the what 2010’s Relay for Life may hold. “Though we put in a lot of hard work this event would not succeed without student support. If anyone is interested, they should consider joining the committee next year,” Lara said.
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