As seen in the Washington Square News.
The word “relay,” as defined by Webster’s New World dictionary, is “a race between teams, each member of which goes a part of the distance.” This definition, however, is hardly an adequate description of Saturday night’s 16-hour camp-out at Cole’s Sport Center, where about 1,000 NYU students, faculty, alumni and community members traveled the distance together in order to raise funds for cancer research and treatment.
Raising nearly $162,000 despite a drop in attendance from last year’s event, the 3rd-annual Relay for Life at NYU, a signature fund-raiser of the American Cancer Society, was held from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6:30 a.m. Sunday.
Complete with contests, music, games, food, live entertainment and raffles, the array of activities at this year’s Relay for Life could also be described as an all-night NYU block party.
“It’s such a great cause and I’m glad NYU picked it up,” said Stern senior Matt Parvin who won “Mr. Relay” at this year’s event. “It really is making a difference.”
It has been three years since Parvin, then a sophomore, approached the American Cancer Society in hopes of organizing a fund-raiser at NYU.
“It turned out they had actually been looking to start something in New York City. So we thought, ‘let’s work together,’ ” said Parvin, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2002.
Parvin helped bring the first Relay for Life to the NYU community in the spring of 2003.
Relay participants are encouraged to form teams for the slumber party’s primary event, a night-long walking relay that takes place around a temporary track on Coles’ field-house level. Teams must have at least one member walking at all times and are also encouraged to help raise funds in their own way before and during the event.
For example, Tisch senior Michael Bednark, dressed in a cowboy costume, sold homemade buttons and raffled off tickets for an iPod Shuffle along with his team members.
“I lost my grandfather and uncle to cancer so I think this is a great cause,” said Bednark, a Rubin RA. “And I really love to make buttons.”
Across the gym, two roommates sparred in an activity called “Bouncy Boxing.” For just $1 per person, Relay for Life participants could enter an inflated ring and playfully rumble with each other.
“It was a nice way for me to take my hostilities out on my roommate,” CAS sophomore Cara Anthony said jokingly.
Students’ fund-raising efforts provided many more sources of food and entertainment, committee members of the event said.
“We don’t want people to get bored all night,” said Bailey Woolfstead, CAS sophomore and Relay chairman for cancer control and advocacy. “We’ve got all sorts of activities geared towards college kids.”
Poker tournaments, dance lessons, film screenings, live performances, a silent auction and massages were just some of the various activities planned during the all-night charitable cause.
Last year’s event boasted 2,000 particpants. This year’s attendance, however, dropped by half. Though the decrease dulled the spirits of planning committee members, the fact that the total money raised increased by nearly $20,000 this year, and the enthusiasm of those who attended made the event worthwhile, said Meghan Spina, a School of Social Work junior and the Relay’s overall event chair.
“We learned a lot about how to advertise to students who want to participate and students who want to just attend the event. Next year that is something that we’ll pay more attention to,” Spina said.
This year’s Luminaria Ceremony proved to be as emotional as in past years During the ceremony, Relay organizers light glow sticks in white plastic bags with names of cancer victims and cancer survivors, on them. The bags are then laid on the track, and the names of those sponsored are read aloud as participants listen in silence.
“It is the time when we honor loved ones we have lost to cancer and those we have been lucky enough to see survive,” said Steinhardt senior Amy Fay, the Relay survivorship chair. Fay’s mother, a brain cancer survivor, was one of the featured speakers at this year’s event.
Event organizers said they are aware of the event’s goal to support cancer victims and honor survivors but are also proud of Relay’s direct effect on campus.
“NYU doesn’t have any other event like this. This event allows everyone to come together for one night,” said Dina Mariani, a CAS senior who is also a member of the Relay planning committee. “It’s a long night, so you get to meet a lot of people. It mixes people up and I think that’s really great for a school that doesn’t have much community.”
–with Kathleen Kane