Glowing bags will illuminate the Boulevard Friday. Along with the mellow lighting, you can smell the grill, hear the live bands and walk side-by-side with someone you may have never known to ever attend SMU.
Relay for Life is at SMU yet again this spring. The all-night event consists of more walking than you could imagine. Your feet may be sore by 4 a.m., but your knowledge that the money raised will go towards the curing of cancer is sure to ease the pain.
The evening will begin with a speech by cancer survivor Rachel Carey. Carey, a junior at SMU, has participated in Relay in the past and is proud to do so again.
“As a cancer survivor, it’s great to see people, who may or may not have cancer, pull together” for this evening, she said.
The diverse group the event brings is a part of Relay that draws people to keep participating. Miranda Dunn, a junior, feels that this is one of the best parts of the night.
“The night of Relay is the best representation of SMU as a community,” she said. “With all of the different groups coming in, greek, faculty, anyone who makes a group, you all end up on the Boulevard.”
Dunn’s grandmother was a victim of lung cancer – her mother is also a breast cancer survivor.
“I was sixteen when my mother got cancer,” she said, looking down. “Cancer has been the most terrifying word to me.”
Walking in Relay for Life is more than just a stroll for Dunn.
“I’m incredibly proud of my mother. I never met my grandmother, but if I could, I would tell her I’m proud,” she said. “For me, walking in Relay is my way of saying that – I’m proud for them, and for everyone who has incredible strength going through something that I can’t even imagine.”
The night will be filled with festivities, such as live bands and plenty of food. All of this, and of course, the walking, will begin 4 p.m. and will go through the night until 4 the next morning.
For some, this is a night to be with friends. For others, it’s a time to take advantage of a Dallas spring night. For Carey, “it’s one more dollar, one more cent, to finding a cure.”
