ESSO in Action
This Saturday, ESSO will be holding our annual Relay for Life event. Everyone in the Exeter community, including students, faculty, staff and their families, are welcome. This event will be from 7-10:15 p.m. and will be held in Ice Rink A of the Love Gymnasium.
The American Cancer Society created Relay for Life to promote cancer awareness and to fundraise for cancer research. This event is set up around a track which people circle for the entirety of the event. Relay is also held in a carnival style fashion, with different booths providing food, games and activity.
The Relay for Life Planning Committee, consisting of thirty members, worked for the past term and a half to create this event in conjunction with ESSO. The committee, led by Harrison Wladis ’17, Claire Dauge-Roth ’17 and myself, Nada Zohayr ’17, organized the booths that will be present at the event along with other logistics. The Publicity Subcommittee, led by Emily Robb ’17 and Audrey Hahn ’17, has created multiple social media accounts, a video and posters to publicize the event. The Awareness Subcommittee, led by Julia Goydan ’18 and Nicole Shi ’17, has been responsible for the Relay for Life Poetry Night, the informational booths in Agora for the past two weeks and the banners around campus.
This year, we are proud to state that we will have over 34 different booths from 20 different dormitories and 14 different organizations. We are familiar with most booths, such as Hoyt Heals and Amen Jail, while others are new concepts, such as Peabody Golf Association and Merrill Karaoke. Along with the student-run booths, there will be a brand new booth organized by the Relay for Life Planning Committee. This booth will consist of a large canvas where students can cover their hands in paint and place their handprints on the canvas. The goal is to create a mural that will be displayed on campus to remember the cause that Relay for Life represents.
The Luminaria ceremony, led by Ashley Baxter ’16 and Audrey DeGuerrera ’16, will be held at 8:30 p.m. this year. During Luminaria, three students will share how cancer has affected their lives and two student will perform. The names of those affected by cancer within the Exeter community will be read out loud at the end of the ceremony. The audience will be given glow sticks to snap when they hear the name of someone they know. Afterward, everyone will walk a lap around the track to pay their respects. Luminaria serves the purpose of reminding the community why they are there and why they relay. It is a moment to reflect on why they do it, and this moment of reflection is extremely powerful.
Along with the beloved Luminaria ceremony, there will also be an opening and closing ceremony. In the opening ceremony at 7:30 p.m., everyone will celebrate the survivors, and Exeter Association of Rock will be performing as a form of celebration. During the closing ceremony at 10 p.m., the amount of money raised during the event will be announced and thanks will be given to those involved in the event.
This year’s Relay for Life will be amazing! Like us on Facebook at ‘Phillips Exeter Academy Relay for Life!’ Follow us on Snapchat @pearelayforlife and on Instagram @pearelayforlife2k16!