Many students will be pulling an all-nighter this weekend, but this one will be by choice.
At least 175 Bowdoin students are expected to walk in Bowdoin's first-ever Relay for Life tonight to raise cancer awareness and challenge the notion that the condition does not affect the student population.
Sponsored by Baxter House, the Relay for Life has garnered the involvement of 15 teams, with a fundraising total of $20,000. This was the projected goal set by the American Cancer Society (ACS), which sponsors the event annually across the nation.
ACS will use approximately 94 percent of the money raised to go toward cancer research and treatment. The remaining six percent will go toward covering the costs of the event. ACS itself is only paying for the use of Bowdoin facilities.
The decision to sponsor a Relay for Life, which takes place from 7 p.m. on Friday, April 21 through 7 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, grew out of Baxter House's desire to sponsor a charitable organization for the entire year.
After choosing to address the issue of cancer, the house got in contact with ACS. According to Relay for Life organizer Kiel McQueen '08, "Part of the responsibility of being affiliated with the American Cancer Society is sponsoring a Relay for Life."
The organizing committee consists of 15 Baxter House members, divided into pairs, with each pair dedicated to a separate element of the event, such as food, entertainment, publicity, or team recruitment.
McQueen serves as overseer of the event and as a liaison to ACS.
Serving as faculty advisors for the Relay for Life were Assistant Director of Residential Life Lawson Wulsin and Coordinator of Community Service Programs Sarah Seames.
The event is set to open with an introduction by McQueen, followed by a video address by President Barry Mills, then a survivor lap, and an introduction of participating teams, after which the Relay for Life will begin in Morrell Gym.
While each individual need not walk for a specific amount of time during the night, at any given point, at least one member of each team must be walking.
"The different periods of the night symbolize the stages cancer patients go through," McQueen explained. As the sun goes down, "it symbolizes finding out that they have cancer. As the night goes on, it gets darker, and it's supposed to represent treatment, and when it gets light, it represents the end of treatment," he said.
Relay for Life participants will be given illuminaria bags to decorate in memory of those affected by cancer. Included in the illuminaria bags will be glow sticks distributed by the ACS.
During the illuminaria ceremony, participants will walk holding their illuminaria bags so that the only light in the gym will be from the glow sticks, which symbolize those who have either lost or survived battles with cancer.
In addition to the walk, participants will have the opportunity to engage in various entertainment activities throughout the night. There will be a DJ, a hypnotist, inflatable games, four movie showings, video games, and a poker tournament.
On Saturday morning, participants will be treated to breakfast café.
The Student Activities Fee Committee (SAFC), the Bowdoin Women's Association, the Office of Residential Life, the Class of 2008, Baxter House, and the Athletics Department have made donations to cover the cost of entertainment. Food provided throughout the event is entirely donated from businesses including Papa John's, Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks.
For Relay for Life team leader Claudia Marroquin '06, whose mother and grandmother lost their battles with cancer, the event serves as an opportunity to "acknowledge [her] losses."
"By forming a team and fundraising, I have finally talked openly about the ordeal that my family had to go through due to this disease," she said. "Secondly, I really am invested in fundraising to find a cure. Cancer strikes so many people that there really needs to be a cure."
Relay for Life participant Shrinkhala Karmacharya '06 hopes that the event "will give [students] a break from [their] daily lives and give [them] an opportunity, as a community, to honor and support those who have survived and remember those who have died."
"[I have been] amazed by how responsive this campus has been to making this event a successful one, whether it is by donating money or by participating in the event," she said.
According to McQueen, "We'll definitely do it again next year."
"We want this to be a Baxter tradition and pass the torch on to future generations of Baxter residents," he said.