Pitt’s Relay For Life raises thousands for American Cancer Society

When she was in the third grade, doctors diagnosed Alina Crisi’s father with blood… When she was in the third grade, doctors diagnosed Alina Crisi’s father with blood cancer.

Doctors told him and his family that he would live for two years; he lived for another five. On Friday, Crisi, a Pitt sophomore, spoke to her fellow students about what it is like to lose someone to cancer.

“He was a fighter,” Crisi said. “Today I’m here at relay to keep fighting a battle he couldn’t win.”

Crisi joined the more than 900 registered participants who set up tents and booths on the Cathedral of Learning lawn Friday night for Pitt’s Relay for Life. The annual event was hosted by Pitt’s Colleges Against Cancer.

Participants raised $15,000 in seven hours from 5 p.m. to midnight, which, added to the $83,000 raised before the event, brought the organization’s total to $98,000. All proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society.

Freshman Jerry Lee and his team from the second floor of Tower A set up a makeshift dunk tank, one of many on-site fundraisers. People could buy five water balloons for $2 and throw them at a team member in a folding chair.

Freshman Owen Drinkwater was the first on the Tower A team to take water balloons to the face to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

“I’ll switch with him when it starts getting a little colder out,” Lee said as a well-placed water balloon from one donor caught Drinkwater in the upper chest.

While music from a DJ booth carried over the Cathedral lawn, the Tower A team and 96 other groups conducted their fundraisers and entertained themselves. Some groups sold baked goods, T-shirts and drinks, while others hosted small competitions, such as charades and a balloon pop, with the chance to win small prizes.

A makeshift jail was constructed next to the track where people could donate $5 to incarcerate their friends.

Inmates had to raise $5 from passing walkers in order to gain their freedom and designate a new prisoner. Throughout the night, a rotating cast of characters, including one student in a Spiderman suit, begged, heckled and bartered with passing walkers for enough cash to earn release.

An opening ceremony kicked off this year’s Relay For Life, where participants gathered to hear the event’s executive board speak about Pitt.

Pitt sophomore Merel Duursma spoke about her personal battle with cancer, and what it’s like to be on the other end of Relay’s support system now that she is cancer-free.

“Cancer never rests, it just keeps pushing,” Duursma said. “That’s what we do here at Relay for Life, we keep on pushing back.”

Survivors and caregivers took the first laps of the event on the grass’s dirty pathway while participants cheered them on.

Each team had one participant walking or running laps at all times, while other team members were free to walk around and participate in other activities.

Relay for Life committee co-chair Taylor McKelvie, a graduate student at Pitt, said she was impressed by the turnout.

“A lot of times teams have different schedules for people to come and go,” McKelvie said. “But I have seen a lot of people staying for the whole time.”

As the sun went down, participants gathered for the Luminaria ceremony. Organizers placed glowsticks in paper bags and marked the relay path in remembrance of those who died of cancer.

After a silent lap, one portable stadium light lit up the lawn for activities to continue.

The event, which usually runs overnight, was shortened this year due to the recent bomb threats.

Lee was grateful for the easy atmosphere that permeated the lawn in light of the bomb threats received at Pitt over the past months.

“Everyone has been scared,” Lee said. “It’s good to get out the week before finals and not be cooped up in the dorms.”