‘Relay’ers intended to party, not walk for the cause

FAMU’s fourth Relay for Life didn’t bring as much to the table as it brought in previous years in regards to respectable conduct.

Relay for Life is a fundraiser for cancer research, a celebration for those who have survived cancer, and it serves as a light of hope for people who are fighting cancer.

To a person from the outside looking in, it probably appeared to be more of a Who’s Who of groups and organizations than a walk for cancer.

For a minute, I didn’t know where I was: Relay for Life or the after party at Chubby’s.

This was my first year participating in Relay for Life. Last year, I came as a spectator and observed.

People were out walking the track.

There were gospel singers, praise dances, free food, and actual cancer survivors enjoying themselves.

I was impressed. So much so that I decided to get involved this year so I could see how it felt to give back to such a strong cause.

This year didn’t turn out like I expected.

Nobody was really out on the track walking.

Most people were out watching the performances and just having a good time.

It’s supposed to be fun, but not so much fun that we’re not honoring and respecting the families who are fighting cancer.

It looked like a big block party. Be Out day is in April, not March.

The fact that those same people who were doing nothing were the first to everything except the track was funny.

They were the first to the food line, first to the drink line, first to the stage, but they refused to step one foot on the track to walk a lap in support for a cure for cancer.

We are so selfish, we turned an event like this into a social gathering.

People forgot why they were there.

It’s not hard to walk around a track and enjoy the entertainment.

This should have been more than a chance to show off yourself or your organization.

I stayed from 4 p.m. until 7 a.m. I and others sacrificed our Friday night to show our respect to people who died fighting cancer.

Cancer is serious. If it wasn’t serious, there wouldn’t be 44,400 Relay for Life fundraisers with over 3 million people participating nationwide.

I’m not blaming the organizers of this event for what happened.

But student body should not have allowed our fellow students to disrespect our school and the event. For that I’m guilty, too.

Next year, more students should come out and participate to help support Relay for Life by actually relaying to help save someone’s life.

Royle King is sophomore newspaper student from Dallas. He can be reached at famuanopinions@hotmail.com.