UPDATED: April 12, 2011, 12:58 a.m.

CLARIFICATION: In this article, the final amount of money raised was unclear. The number in the story was as of Saturday at 5 p.m.,  before the start of Relay for Life. The final amount announced on Sunday at 4:30 a.m. was $165,753.04. The Daily Orange regrets this miscommunication.

Participating in Saturday’s Relay For Life was personal for Naser Al-Saleh and those in his Habitat for Humanity pre-orientation group.

One of the group members, Heather Buchan, suffered from a relapse of cancer during Winter Break and couldn’t return to campus this semester. Al-Saleh and his group signed a ‘get well soon’ card to remind Buchan they are thinking of her.

‘Our whole pre-orientation group is here in support of her,’ said Al-Saleh, a freshman economics major.

A total of $152,214.92 was raised during this year’s Syracuse University Relay For Life fundraiser as of Sunday night. Relay, an annual event at SU, is held by the American Cancer Society in conjunction with student committees. It runs overnight from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Erin Shuff, senior director for special events for the American Cancer Society and the person in charge of Relay at SU, said this might have been the best turnout she had ever seen at the university.

‘There are definitely way more participants than usual,’ Shuff said. ‘We are on track to raise the most money we ever have in Syracuse.’

To raise money at SU, students and the community formed 250 teams, which included fraternities and sororities, sports teams and groups of friends. Each team member paid a $10 fee that went toward the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society also accepted walk-ins at Relay for a $20 fee at the door.

Many students showed up in support of family, friends or other loved ones.

During the hourlong Luminaria Ceremony at Relay, the lights dimmed and glowing bags strewn across the perimeter of the football field illuminated the Carrier Dome. The bags commemorate someone who has fought or is fighting cancer.

Al-Saleh and the Habitat for Humanity pre-orientation group decorated a bag for the Luminaria Ceremony to honor their missing member, he said.

Katie Hoole, chair of Relay’s Luminaria Committee, took last-minute donations for the bags. Enough bags were donated to fill the entire perimeter of the field.

‘I think the Luminaria is the most important part of the Relay,’ Hoole said. ‘It reminds us all of why we are here.’

The Dome went from an upbeat mood to one of solemn remembrance when the Luminaria Ceremony started at 10 p.m. The inside of the football field emptied as almost everyone in the stadium started to walk around the perimeter. Many sat in groups around the bags to console and help each other through their grief. Some prayed for lost ones and those still fighting.

As music played and people continued to walk, the names of every person with a bag dedicated to him or her were read aloud. Other bags for the Luminaria Ceremony were grouped together inside the upper deck of the Dome, behind each end zone, to spell out ‘hope’ and ‘cure.’

After all of the names were read and the Luminaria Ceremony ended, many people returned to their spots on the field, still silent to show respect to those who have been affected by cancer.

Food was served following the Luminaria Ceremony, and the mood began to lighten as people laughed and talked while games and fundraisers operated again.

Many student groups sponsored the fundraisers along the outside of the football field. Some of those groups included the Student Association, whose members painted participants’ faces, and the SU Formula Racing team, which held a Mario Kart tournament. Teams were assigned a portion of the football field, designated by cones. Some teams brought elaborate tents; others had nothing more than a sleeping bag and pillow.

Sarah Brandt, a freshman advertising major, was at Relay with her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, to support cancer awareness, prevention and the search for a cure.

‘I have been lucky enough to not know anyone who has had cancer personally,’ Brandt said. ‘But I think it is important to support those who have, and that is why I am here.’

Shuff, the person in charge of Relay at SU, said the best way to sum up the reason for Relay For Life was noted by a speaker during the Luminaria Ceremony:

‘So our children will never have to hear, ‘You have cancer.”

ndgallag@syr.edu

Published on April 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm