Group of young women have raised over $15,000 for cancer

By: Kaitlyn Oates

A group of young women have raised over $15,800 for cancer research, and they aren't stopping there. They are the team Angels For a Cure participating in the Oxford/Lafayette County for Relay for Life. The team has a goal of raising $20,000 which is a huge step up from their goal last year of $15,000. Last year they were just shy of their goal. Over the past three years Angels For a Cure has raised over $25,000 for cancer research.

Relay For Life is a 24 hour long event that celebrates cancer survivors living to have another birthday. It is put on by the American Cancer Society and is their main fundraiser. The event consists of three laps: the survivor lap, the luminaria ceremony, and the fight back ceremony. The luminaria ceremony is when loved ones who have battled cancer names' are written on bags filled with sand with a candle lit inside. It takes place after dark and participants walk a lap in silence.

The two captains for Angels For a Cure are Brooke Cantwell and Cassidy Hedges, seniors at Ole Miss. Both girls have been impacted by cancer. Cantwell is a bone cancer survivor while Hedges brother was diagnosed with stage 4 testicular cancer in July of 2004. Both thankfully are survivors and have been cancer free for several years.

Both girls have been doing Relay for Life for eight years. “My nurses introduced me to relay and I joined their team. This is my 8th year,” said Cantwell. Hedges got involved her freshmen year of high school through one of her good friends who was an annual participant. It was just one year later that her brother was diagnosed.

The girls have been working hard to raise money and won't stop until they reach that $20,000 mark. “Being that this is Brooke's senior year, and mine the two of us decided that this year's goal would be $20,000!” said Hedges. They have over a hundred girls on their team who are relentlessly fund raising. Hedges has personally gone over her goal of $3,000 and raised $3,400! Cantwell herself has brought in over $1,000 of the proceeds. Other members on the team have brought in well over their $100 personal goal. Allison Dawson has raised $1,000, Angie Tracy has raised $800, and Kristin Robinson has raised $600, all three are students at Ole Miss.

The team is also hosting four Chick-Fil-A spirit nights from 5-9 P.M. where 15% of all dine in meals go to the team. The first dine-in night raised $206.83 which is the largest check they have ever had to cut. The next dine-in night was March 23^rd with the third being held on April 20^th. There is also a fourth one scheduled for late April/early May. Another way they are bringing in the dollars is by selling t-shirts. The t-shirts are red with a circus tent on them to go along with the “Circus” theme of this years Relay. They are selling them for a donation of $13.

Relay For Life of Oxford/Lafayette County is taking place on May 6, 2011 from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. So far eighteen teams have signed up and $34,685 has been raised combined.

For more information on donating to Angels For a Cure you can visit: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=28820.

For more information on Oxford/Lafayette County Relay visit: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11MS?sid=1003&type=fr_informational&pg=informational&fr_id=28820

American Cancer Society Hosts Another Successful Event

Relay for Life is hosted by the American Cancer Society every year to help spread awareness and raise money to battle cancer. Teams are formed to help raise money as well as participate in the relay around a local track. Relays may last as long as 24 hours. Each team is asked to keep one representative on the track at all times, sometimes dwindling into the early hours of the morning.

In 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt began the Relay for Life. He ran and walked, for 24 hours, by himself to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then the event has grown from a one-man operation to one that hosts over 3.5 million participants annually. Relay for Life was not only formed to fight current battles against cancer, but it was formed to remember to lives affected by this disease.

Ole Miss banded together to form 36 teams for this event, the total number of students and faculty participating in the relay was slightly under 400. One of the faculty-based teams was the Ole Miss Librarians. They set their goal at raising $1,000. To their surprise they managed to raise over $1,700 for the American Cancer Society. Ole Miss Relay for Life

Students and faculty met affront the Lyceum at 6pm last Friday to let the festivities begin. The all night fundraiser lasted well into the early morning hours and participants enjoyed activities such as a frozen t-shirt contest, a hot dog eating contest, as well as the actual relay. Sophomore Pike, Ryan O’ Connor on his experience, “This was my first time participating and it certainly won’t be my last. The event was inspiring because I was able to help people by doing something that most of them couldn’t do for themselves.”

The event can be broken up into three main categories with three main purposes. Those purposes are to celebrate, remember, and fight back. The Survivor’s Lap was the first event, it is held to celebrate the victories we have achieved over cancer. The second event is the Luminaria Ceremony, which was brought on to remember the lives lost and the lives affected by cancer. During this event, white bags are filled with sand and a candle is placed in each bag. The final event is designed to fight back against cancer. The Fight Back Ceremony is the final section of the event, this is where participants arise to take a personal stand against cancer.

This event, which started with one man over 25 years ago, has grown to be the largest and most profitable event for the American Cancer Society. For the first time on our campus, students came together to take on the Relay for Life. The success of this event has left many students and faculty members in anticipation of next year’s event.

The Secret Sisterhood is Still Strong

Resident assistant Catherine McCoy became concerned when she noticed the residence on her floor becoming inclusive with their certain group of friends. McCoy wanted to invent a way where everyone body on her floor knew everyone. McCoy came up with a program called going grey.

Going grey is a program where everyone on the floor will be given a secret sister. The objective is for the residence to get to know their secret sister, without giving themselves away. Each residence will have to give an encouraging note,clues to who you are, and a gift no more than fifteen dollars.

Going grey is the resulting color is a mix of all the racial colors. McCoy has noticed that the residence certain group of friends were all the same race, but some residence would talk to a different race. McCoy combined all the races into one to make one program for everybody. Red is native american and hispanics,white is caucasian, black is african american,brown is Indian from the asian-indian subcontinent and,yellow is asian, mixed together is grey.

“Even after ten weeks residents are still meeting new resident’s on the floor,” McCoy said. The program seems to be working. Only, it seems to be taking more time than McCoy wanted it too. Some residence are opposed to the secret sisterhood.

“It seemed like fun, but it just got boring since my secret sister has not done anything for me,” freshmen Laiken Russel said. On the third floor it seems that most residence are involved in the program, though some are not. According to Russell most people are giving up on the idea. Why should they have to buy a gift, leave a note, and give clues when their secret sister has not done anything for them.

“I do not see the point in this program, I can make new friends on my own if I want to, ” freshmen Renee Wiegand said. Most residence are just playing the game fairly. If they have not received anything then why should they go out of their way to give something. The wait is still on as the end of the semester approaches for the residence of Hefley Hall, hopefully things will improve.

http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/stu_housing/traditional_halls.html#3

Abortion protesters swarm Ole Miss campus

On march 22^nd, the University of Mississippi was swarmed by anti-abortion advocates. These protestors were here in hopes of swaying the student population into voting for an amendment to the Mississippi constitution banning all abortions.

The group these protesters were part of was from Wisconsin and thought to be have come on behalf of pro-life Mississippi. The group was present all throughout not only the campus but Oxford as a whole, with a several of the protestors holding signs and passing out literature on Jackson Avenue itself. The Oxford Police department quickly removed them.

“I thought the entire affair was distasteful, those images were not appropriate to be displayed on campus”, said Matt Mueller, A freshmen student.

His words echoed many of the students on campus, many of whom were bombarded as soon as they left the union from lunch. The protestors ranged mostly from the union to the grove, but there number was large. The group displayed extremely graphic images of aborted fetus’ all throughout campus, on posters as high as six feet tall.

“They had children handed out flyers on Jackson Avenue, I do not think children should be exposed to such extreme pictures so early in life” said Diptendu Paul, another freshmen student.

The Amendment would be the 26^th amendment to the U.S Constitution and is due to be voted on later this year.

Tough Finish in NIT for Rebs, Kennedy

OAKLAND-The Ole Miss Rebel basketball team concluded their 2011 season with a heartbreaking 77-74 loss to the California Golden Bears in the first round of the Men's NIT. The Rebels fought hard and brought the game close several times, but with Jorge Gutierrez 25 points and two free throws with under 20 seconds was just too much for the fatigued Rebels.

"They knocked in rhythm shots early and then it became contagious," Andy Kennedy stated."I thought our guys did a good job of weathering that and getting back in the game. Unfortunately we've been on this side more times than we would like to admit." The Rebs finished the season at 20-14, clinching the sixth straight 20 win season under coach Kennedy.

The Rebels have achieved a solid 20 wins the past six seasons, but fans are becoming discouraged that 20 wins just does not cut the mustard anymore with the faltering SEC competition in relation to the rest of the major conferences. Is it time for a change?

Freshman student and long time Ole Miss fan Buckner Corso stated: "I believe that Kennedy has been a great coach, but has not shown to be too clutch in late game situations where the game is hanging in the balance." The Rebels lost 8 games this season by 5 points or less, and most of these were games of teams with a dismal RPI.

Like Chris Warren, Zach Graham's carreer as an Ole Miss basketball player ended as well. The senior posted 17 points, and was a vocal leader for this team throughout the season. Both Warren and Graham finished as two of the top 18 scorers in school history. Chris Warren chipped in 23 points to put him at one of four players ever in the SEC to reach the 2,000 points and 400 assist century mark. Graham also broke the school record with 135 games played.

What will the Rebels due to prepare for next season? It starts now. The three driving forces for next years team will be junior forward, Terrence Henry, freshman guard Dundrecous Nelson, and the upcoming phenom Jelan Kendrick of Atlanta. "The Rebels have all the keys to put together a great upcoming season," says Corso. "It's all about putting those keys in the right places."

Sources:
http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/ole-m-baskbl-mtt.html

http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/031611aaa.html

Relay for Life comes to Ole Miss

Relay for Life is hosted by the American Cancer Society every year to help spread awareness and raise money to battle cancer. Teams are formed to help raise money as well as participate in the relay around a local track. Relays may last as long as 24 hours. Each team is asked to keep one representative on the track at all times, sometimes dwindling into the early hours of the morning.

In 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt began the Relay for Life. He ran and walked, for 24 hours, by himself to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since then the event has grown from a one-man operation to one that hosts over 3.5 million participants annually. Relay for Life was not only formed to fight current battles against cancer, but it was formed to remember to lives affected by this disease.

Thus far Ole Miss students have banded together to form 36 teams to participate in this event. The total number of participants reaches to 363. Such teams include the 2011 Relay Committee, Phi Mu, and the Ole Miss Librarians. Participants are also spotlighted for raising large amounts of money. The participant to raise the most money so far, Patrick Salter has raised almost $1,000. The Phi Mu sorority has raised just under $3,000 for this event. Sophomore Phi Mu, Sealy Smith on raising money “We were asked to go around oxford asking different business to donate money towards the cause.”

The relay events are to take place on Friday, March 25, 2011. At 6pm participants will gather in front of the Lyceum to commence the relays. The relays will last throughout the night up until 6am on Saturday morning. Other than the relay participants will enjoy activities such as a hot dog eating contest and a frozen t-shirt contest. Ole Miss Sophomore, Ryan O’ Connor says he is excited about the upcoming event, “I am really looking forward to Friday’s relay it is my first time to participate. I hope that I can sign up in years to come; I feel like it is a really good cause and I have seen the devastation this disease can cause.”

The event can be broken up into three main categories with three main purposes. Those purposes are to celebrate, remember, and fight back. The Survivor’s Lap is the first event, it is held to celebrate the victories we have achieved over cancer. The second event is the Luminaria Ceremony, which is held to remember the lives lost and the lives affected by cancer. During this event, white bags are filled with sand and a candle is placed in each bag. The final event is designed to fight back against cancer. The Fight Back Ceremony is where participants as well as the hosts stand up to start a personal fight against cancer.

This event, which started with one man over 25 years ago, has grown to be the largest and most profitable event for the American Cancer Society. Students and members of our community are asked to help the fight against cancer whether they have been affected personally or not. Such an event has created buzz around campus because this disease in one way or another has affected so many people. It is not too late to sign up and students are encouraged to join the effort by joining or starting a team, or simply signing up as a solo walker.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=28575&pg=entry

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196505013702643

More sisters are becoming less secret

The Secret Sisterhood is Still Strong

Resident assistant Catherine McCoy became concerned when she noticed the residence on her floor becoming inclusive with their certain group of friends. McCoy wanted to invent a way where everyone body on her floor knew everyone. McCoy came up with a program called going grey.

Going grey is a program where everyone on the floor will be given a secret sister. The objective is for the residence to get to know their secret sister, without giving themselves away. Each residence will have to give an encouraging note,clues to who you are, and a gift no more than fifteen dollars.

Going grey is the resulting color is a mix of all the racial colors. McCoy has noticed that the residence certain group of friends were all the same race, but some residence would talk to a different race. McCoy combined all the races into one to make one program for everybody. Red is native american and hispanics,white is caucasian, black is african american,brown is Indian from the asian-indian subcontinent and,yellow is asian, mixed together is grey.

“This program is important to me because I would like to see more new friendships on the floor and if young people can see beyond skin color then it will help make it better for future generations,” McCoy said. The program will last all for the entire spring semester. Everyone is supposed to get a little gift, clues about who their secret sister is, and an encouraging note to brighten up their day.

Nine weeks later the third floor of Hefley is filled with candy, cards, and notes. There is a lot of talk on the floor on how effective this program still is. Everyone is trying to guess the big mystery on who there big sister is. No one has really received any clues from their mystery sister on who they really are.

“I still have no idea who my big sister is, the guessing is exciting but still frustrating at the same time ” Laiken Russell said. The wait is still on as the end of the semester approaches for the residence of Hefley Hall.