College Against Cancer (CAC) was chosen to receive Konosioni’s Campus Life Award, which is granted to a different campus group each month. In the month of October, seven groups applied, each demonstrating impressive positive impactson campus. Konosioni wanted to choose a campus group relevant to current issues on campus and for this reason, they chose CAC, which is a nationally recognized group affiliated with the American Cancer Society. One of CAC’s biggest accomplishments was Relay for Life 2008, which was held in September. Relay raised over $40,000 for the American Cancer Society, which proved to be the most successful Relay in Colgate’s history and is currently the most successful Relay this year out of 364 colleges that registered.

“As this was only the third Relay for Life at Colgate. We were so excited that this year’s Relay was such a success,” CAC co-leader junior Katie Roberts said. “It was amazing how much money our campus raised and it shows how cancer really does affect everyone. I think the most important part of Relay is the luminary ceremony, which epitomizes the purpose of this event and is a time to reflect. Relay for Life is such a great event because it unites the campus together to fight a common cause and I hope to see even more people there next year.”

Relay for Life is a 12-hour overnight event that commemorates those who have passed away due to cancer and those who currently are affected by cancer. “While the six other group applicants took part in many other great activities on campus, College Against Cancer’s efforts in Relay for Life were outstanding and were particularly relevant to recent events on campus,” Konosioni member senior Jaclyn Berger said. Other impacts that CAC has had on campus include T-shirt sales during Spring Party Weekend to raise awareness about skin cancer by promoting the use of sun-block.

“Skin cancer is especially prevalent in the college youth population, so we wanted to explicitly target that during our Spring Party Weekend T-shirt sale.” CAC co-leader junior Grace Baik said. “We had at least three students come up and admit that they personally dealt with skin cancer during the sale…We, as a club, are honored to receive this award. I hope to definitely use the recognition from this award to attract new members, motivate our old ones and keep our operations going. Our awesome, dedicated members (especially all those in the freshman class) meet once a week to discuss how we as a group can further bring awareness and raise money for the American Cancer Society. Now that Relay is over, we can focus on a larger number of smaller initiatives like brown bags and dodgeball tournaments. Look for them next semester!”