A new student community-involvement group at the Downtown campus will fight against cancer on Friday and Saturday during ASU’s Relay for Life.
Cronkite Against Cancer, a new student-service group that provides volunteer opportunities, will participate in the all-night relay at Tempe’s Sun Angel Stadium.
Dylan Abrams, a journalism freshman and CAC co-captain, said volunteering for CAC and other community-service groups can help distinguish Downtown students from other ASU students.
“Even though there are four campuses, we all make up one ASU, and this (relay) gets Downtown students (volunteering) on the Tempe campus,” Abrams said. “We can still be a part of the greater ASU community, and it gives the Downtown campus a face.”
Relay for Life, a nationwide benefit backed by the American Cancer Society, encourages individuals to raise money and stay up from dusk until dawn to contribute to the cause.
“Relay for Life is symbolic because the beginning of the night is like a diagnosis, you stay up all night and sacrifice your sleep, and that represents the battle people with cancer fight,” Abrams said. “And then the morning symbolizes survival. There has to be at least one member on the track at all times.”
Abrams and fellow journalism freshman Erin Kennedy founded CAC in December 2010, and the group now has 15 Cronkite students participating in this year’s Relay for Life. More Cronkite students started joining group in early March when it held its first meeting, Abrams said.
Since joining the group, students have raised about $200 for the cause, Kennedy said in an email.
CAC held a fundraiser last Thursday night at the Cold Stone Creamery in the Arizona Center, with 20 percent of Cold Stone’s profits going toward the team, Kennedy said.
Kennedy said students have also been fundraising for CAC by selling luminaries. The Relay for Life website lists the “Luminaria Ceremony” as a touching gesture that takes place during the event at sunset where countless paper bags are illuminated with light, each bag representing someone who has battled cancer.
Abrams is planning another fundraiser that will take place at the relay, in which different members of the team dress up and act as Walter Cronkite, interviewing students at the event.
CAC is not an official ASU club, but both Kennedy and Abrams expressed interest in developing the group into a club if there is enough student interest.
“I would love to make this a continual thing,” Abrams said. “I have three more years here, so why not pursue that?”
Abrams believes in the importance of Cronkite students getting involved and volunteering for worthwhile causes.
“It is important that especially journalism students get involved in local charities to bring those issues to life,” Abrams said. “As journalists, we can help bring issues to light and help support growth for those causes.”
Contact the reporter at Leila.Ohara@asu.edu
