Relay for Life -- Raising Awareness One Booth at a Time

Cotton candy, mini golf, Super Smash Bros and an Evening Prayer raffle; what sounds like a carnival is actually the annual Relay for Life, an event that commemorates those who have battled or lost their lives to cancer.

This year’s function, dedicated to Peter Greer, a former English instructor who lost his life to cancer this past fall, will host more than 30 booths, ranging from henna tattoos to a kissing booth, which will raise money for cancer awareness and entertain Exonians. The night will also feature a luminaria service to honor friends, family, schoolmates and faculty that have had to deal with cancer.

“Through the Relay for Life events, not only do students and faculty have the opportunity to have fun while raising money for cancer research, but we also have a chance to step back and honor those who have fought, are fighting and have lost the battle against cancer,” Relay for Life co-head and upper Drew Goydan said.

“In terms of the entire school, Relay for Life has an incredible way of bringing people together,”

Goydan continued, noting that most people have someone they know who has battled cancer. “In that sense, Relay for Life provides the entire student Exeter community a basis on which to connect. It is an invaluable way to bring the entire school’s attention to an important cause and work as a collective to fight back against a disease which has already taken so much.”

Even though the event helps provide insight into how cancer affects people and their communities, it also helps impart comfort and support to those in need.

“It lets people know that they are not alone, and it also makes those who may not have realized it before that their friends and teachers are dealing with things way beyond the classroom,” upper Cornelia Smith, also a co-head of Relay for Life, said.

“We do not often have the chance to reflect on the lives of those we have lost to this disease,” previous co-head and senior Becca Nievar said. “Relay gives us the chance to commemorate those who have battled, beaten and lost to cancer and raise money to continue to support them.”

Among the 36 booths, many dorms on campus are involved in Relay for Life, hosting stalls that are not only creative, but reflect various dorm traditions. Cilley Hall, for example, is hosting their second booth for C-ball, their signature game, in which a plastic ball is hit over two benches.

“The Cilley Hall booth this year will be a C-Ball tournament, a friendly but competitive showcase of this proud tradition of our dorm,” upper Paul Lei, who has been one of the main organizers of the booth, said. “This will be the second year that Cilley has done this. Last year, our booth was very successful and many people showed up. It seemed like everyone was into it and enjoyed the game. This year, we will make a tournament bracket beforehand. We hope that this will organize the event more thoroughly and ensure that things run smoothly while attracting even a larger audience.”

Like Cilley, Wentworth Hall is also hosting an original booth that resembles their dorm custom of Super Smash Bros Brawl, a popular fighter game for the Wii. Upper Michael Tuchler decided to get involved in planning this event after his friend’s mother passed away of cancer.

“I was just getting to be pretty good friends with him at that point, and it affected me too. I saw him going through all that and I wanted to get involved. It made me more aware of the nature of the issue and that you could do something,” Tuchler said. “The booth is going to be just a set up with the game Super Smash Bros Brawl.”

Ewald Hall will also host a booth that reflects their video game traditions. But instead of Super Smash Bros, their booth will feature Dance Central, a video game in which two players can mirror the dance moves shown on the screen.

In addition to sports and games, Relay for Life will present a myriad of fun activities to amuse and charm the Exeter community.

“The event should be great this year with student involvement across campus,” Goydan said. “Look forward to cotton candy, mini golf, an EP raffle, nachos, henna and much more.”

The occasion is by no means simple, and months of preparation have gone into planning the event.

“Cornelia and I began working on Relay in early January. At that time, we began developing a planning committee to help us with various aspects of the event,” Goydan said. “The committee has really been instrumental in helping things run smoothly this year. Every member is dedicated and willing to pitch in, whether it be running awareness tables, making ribbons, writing stories or making posters.”

The co-heads also had to gather and organize the booths, which raise most of the proceeds for the event.

“This year, we had over 35 teams sign up ranging from friend groups to sports teams to dorms to clubs,” Goydan said. “We needed to make sure they have a booth idea, the supplies and the people necessary to execute it.”

But after many long months of hard work, all the groundwork has seemed to be worth it.

“Relay for Life is important not only to me but the whole community, because cancer is something that affects everybody, whether it be yourself, a friend or a family member,” Smith said.