On Friday, April 26, Relay for Life was held in Garvey Park. Relay for Life is a walk to help raise money for the American Cancer Society and occurs in many cities across the globe.

Relays have a variety of activities to keep participants entertained and to continue to help raise funds until the day is done. Relays vary in length, with the longest relay lasting a full 24 hours. This student-planned event raised nearly $15,000. I think this is quite an accomplishment and yet it almost didn’t happen this year.

Other organizations wanted to use Mercyhurst facilities to help raise money for their cause, because of this Relay for Life was in danger of not happening at all. While I think it’s great other organizations want to use our facilities to help further their cause, I think it’s a shame the administration thought that they might be more important than the annual student-run Relay. I participated in high school and was thrilled to know that Mercyhurst also held an annual Relay.

My favorite part of Relay is the Luminaria Ceremony where we all take a few minutes to remember the ones we lost to cancer and thank God for those who won the fight. It gives everyone who attends a common thread, if only for a few minutes.

I am thankful to the members of the Relay Committee for pushing to hold another Relay on campus and hope to participate next year. While other causes are just as important, great student-run fundraisers should never be in jeopardy.