Written by Jessica Ardrey
Your aunt. My grandpa. His best friend. Her mom. Cancer has touched everyone in some way or another and left us feeling hopeless.Last weekend, Harding participated in Relay for Life and took steps toward ridding mankind of that hopelessness.Friday night, the track at First Security Stadium was full of students representing various clubs and organizations. The evening included a luminary ceremony and performances from Belles and Beaux, Peppered Blue, and Swimsy and the Saltshakers.The rules of the event state that someone from each team must be on the track at all times for 12 hours, ending with the closing ceremonies at 7 o’clock the next morning. Those not on the track took turns running team booths to raise money for the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S., the American Cancer Society, which put on the event.The theme of this year’s Relay for Life was Nickelodeon. Teams took the form of popular TV shows from the ’90s, such as “Hey, Arnold!,” “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and “The Wild Thornberrys.” The booths featured food, games and even arts and crafts.Despite the heavy eyes and serious sleep deprivation, students said they were happy to take part in fundraising for the ACS.”I think it’s awesome,” Chi Sigma Alpha member Kendall White said. “It’s a good time just to hang out, but that’s not why we’re here. The main reason is that we’re all here supporting cancer research, and that’s cool.”ACS community representative Beth Batchelor was also at the event. Batchelor has five other events coordinated in the area, including ones in Searcy, Beebe and Heber Springs, but said she was particularly looking forward to the one here.”I was very excited about having a college event because they are known for being so high-energy,” Batchelor said. “Plus, I just really like the idea of getting started young with doing anything like this.”Batchelor, whose grandmothers on both sides of her family suffered from breast cancer, said she’s the new kid on the block in the organization, but already loves it compared to “corporate, suck-your-soul-out kind of jobs” she’s had in the past.”I mean, I’m not an angel. [But] I don’t want to lie for a living; I want to do something good,” Batchelor said.Junior Heather Semmelmann was on the Relay for Life committee as chairman of entertainment. However, her ties with the ACS run a little deeper than most.In 2008, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She recovered after her surgery only to be informed a year later that it was back.”When I had my first tumor, my family wasn’t really involved and I kind of did it by myself,” Semmelmann said. “But Relay’s been awesome because I get to support survivors and caregivers and people that have gone through this. That way they know that someone is there for them, because I didn’t.”Two years later, Semmelmann is cancer-free.She now puts her effort into projects like Relay for Life because of the range of programs ACS puts on. The money goes not only toward cancer research, but also toward various treatments and programs that help patients cope mentally.Details about these programs, along with endless others, can be found online.”I’m not kidding, the site is massive,” Batchelor said. “People joke that the cure for cancer is somewhere on the website, but no one can find it because it’s so big.”To find more information about cancer prevention, risk factors, research or ways to get involved, visit the American Cancer Society’s site at www.cancer.org.
