Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Fighting Cancer, Lap by Lap

Hanksy Santos/The Hoya Students gather on Harbin Field to watch the Georgetown Phantoms perform at last year's Relay for Life.
Hanksy Santos/The Hoya
Students gather on Harbin Field to watch the Georgetown Phantoms perform at last year’s Relay for Life.

More than 1,400 students will walk to honor cancer survivors and raise funds for cancer research at Georgetown’s eighth Relay for Life tonight.

Georgetown’s Relay has raised more than $2 million since 2006. This year, participants had raised $130,000 as of Thursday evening, and coordinators hope to reach $225,000 by the end of the event Friday through club fundraisers, which will make money through fundraisers, including selling bubble tea and tickets to play cornhole. Associate School of Foreign Service professor JamesVreeland will charge $5 for students to compete against him in his annual push-up contest.

“We still have a shot to hit our goal,” Relay Co-Chair DanSilkman (COL ’15) said.

As of Wednesday, 121 teams had registered for the event, while Relay chairs had hopes for increased participation by the end of the night.

“We hope to have 2,000 [students signed up] by the end of the week,” Relay Co-Chair Molly Paris (SFS ’13) said. “It might seem like a long shot right now, but people always sign up last minute because they don’t really know what they’re doing this weekend yet.”

This year, the annual School of Foreign Service Diplomatic Ball is on the same night as Relay.

“There’s always a conflict in the spring,” Paris said. “If it’s not Dip Ball, it would be some other event.”

In an effort to encourage participation of the approximately 750 students attending Dip Ball, Relay will offer free food for Dip Ball attendees who come to Relay after the ball.

Last year, Relay raised about $185,000 — a total they could eclipse this year. But it is unlikely that fundraising will reach levels attained in 2008 or 2011, in which approximately $382,000 and $400,000 were raised, respectively.

Relay teams range from groups of friends to campus organizations. This year, the team of Relay executives is leading fundraising, having collected more than $16,500 so far. Hoya Blue, which raised more than $12,000 last year, is in second place with more than $6,000 to date.

“I really like seeing everyone at Georgetown come together. It’s one of the biggest events on campus,” Hoya Blue Team Captain Rachel Carrig (COL ’13) said. “Seeing everyone agree upon this one thing, and seeing all of Georgetown rally to help fight cancer is really inspiring.”

The money Relay raises is sent to the American Cancer Society, which then distributes the money between initiatives to facilitate cancer research, caregiving and legislative action.

The Office of the University President, Students of Georgetown, Inc., the Center for Social Justice and What’s After Dark also contribute funding for Relay.

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