Images courtesy of Anna Li ’24
Bake sales, homemade crafts, and more bake sales. November is fast approaching and so is SAS’s annual fall spectacle – Relay for Life.
Students sign up for this event in overwhelming numbers. They pitch tents on the field, share snacks with friends, and wrap themselves in thick blankets amidst the chilly air as they make their way around the track, all in the name of a fun school sleepover!
And to raise awareness in solidarity against cancer, of course.
It is undeniable that the monetary results of Relay for Life are impactful. After all, with a steep fundraising requirement of 800 RMB per person, the final amounts raised usually amount to over 200,000 RMB, a very impressive donation to the Fudan University Children’s Hospital.
But it seems the main objective of this event has been moved onto the back burner for some.
Although this event has its positive impacts on fundraising, people have raised questions about the impacts when it comes to the “raising awareness” part that seems to be a part of Relay vocabulary. Apart from the posters groups make, advertising their fundraising efforts with facts about cancer, or a WeChat post containing a few statistics, it’s difficult to see and quantify how Relay for Life fulfills the “raising awareness” aspect.
The activities of the actual event involve hearing from a cancer survivor, walking laps to earn points in the form of popsicle sticks, and the Luminaria ceremony. And admittedly, the impacts of these activities are “difficult to put into words”, NHS advisor Mr. Pardy says.
Some see walking laps around the track as a parallel to the experiences of those affected by cancer. The incessant walking is “emotionally exhausting, cognitively contemplating, and physically demanding”. Others see it as a show of solidarity, of support for the never-ending fight against the disease.
There doesn’t appear to be a generally agreed-upon answer, which can make the purpose of this event unclear.
More disheartening are instances that appear each year, elephants in the room. Whispers about insensitive comments about the plight of cancer, sightings of students unwilling to walk, and snickering during somber speeches all plague halls in the days following the event.
Mr. Pardy admits this as well, “the initial awareness or sense of purpose may not be there,”
Though he follows that up by asserting, “But it’s the engagement of empathetic behavior that might lead to some change”.
It’s “cognitive dissonance” as the psychology teacher puts it. Students are initially motivated by fun with friends and don’t give much thought to the emotional weight behind the event. But the small aspects of Relay such as the Luminaria ceremony and the survivor presentation force them to confront the harsh realities of cancer head-on and become more open and empathetic to the idea.
And perhaps that’s the truth about Relay.
It isn’t all about “solidarity” or “support”. And “raising awareness” is just a phrase thrown around with no concrete meaning.
Instead, I find that “fostering empathy” may be a more apt way to describe the goals of the event.
Relay may have its flaws, but it’s difficult not to commend the students who are still walking as the sun rises on Saturday morning.
Cancer is a foreign topic to many, and it’s all too often thrown around as a buzzword meant to inspire a conditioned fear or pity in those who hear it. A 24-hour walk-a-thon certainly isn’t enough to transform its participants into all-knowing scholars about this disease, but it should be enough to light the spark of empathy.