Each year, Relay for Life seeks to raise funds and awareness in the fight against cancer. On Saturday, here at Columbia, students jogged and walked in Dodge Fitness Center for twelve hours in support of this event.

"People who are interested in participating will form teams with their friends and then they'll come and try to raise money."

"It's the same thing across the entire globe. It's become the American Cancer Society's signature fundraiser as well as the largest not-for-profit fundraiser in the world."

"I think we raised a little over fifty thousand dollars and that money goes directly towards things like research or advocacy work, providing care for people who can't afford it."

The organizers sought not only the Columbia community's contribution but also wished to have an impact on the student body.

"To get involved, there are endless possibilities because we have kind of a level of evolvement for everybody. You can do Relay for Life as a participant, and that's a great way to get involved. And so you just show up one day and you do some fundraising and that's it."

"One thing is that a lot of people feel like cancer is not really something they can relate to but we try to put a lot of emphasis on survivors. There are actually a few survivors at Columbia and there are actually some survivors in the committee."

Many groups on campus contributed their time and effort to make Relay for Life a success, ensuring that their seemingly small efforts count in the larger efforts of the American Cancer Society.

"We've been doing a lot of recruitment this year. A lot of it is getting people excited for Relay and I think that was really good in that people were really excited to come."

"The cancer survival rate is higher than it has ever been and it's great but it's not enough because one in three people will be affected by cancer in their lifetime and that's too much. That's why we're here."