Relay for Life wins title

On Oct. 31, the American Cancer Society announced that

Xavier University's Relay for Life team placed first out of 75 teams in the East Central Division in the Rival U competition. As a result of winning Rival U, two officials from the American Cancer Society will come to Xavier to decorate the campus for the Relay for Life event, which will take place on April 20, 2012, on Xavier Yard. Xavier overcame rivals from University of Cincinnati and Ohio

State University to win the competition, which consisted of four challenges across the month of October.

The challenges consisted of the committee signing up online, organizing an admissions fundraiser, decorating the campus and signing as many students up for Relay for Life as possible. Xavier's Relay for Life committee

added its own creative spin to these tasks by organizing

the "think pink" bake sale as part of the admissions fundraiser and turning the lights purple in the clock tower of Gallagher Student Center. Relay for Life at Xavier is enjoying

huge success this year an Karina Ogawa, event chair for

production of Relay for Life, believes that the triumph in the Rival U competition illustrates this perfectly. "I am really proud of how our committee pulled everything off

and placed first in Rival U this October," Ogawa said.

Relay for Life has seen an astronomical increase in its fundraising at Xavier, having already raised over $1,800 and increased Relay its number of participants to 152, dwarfing last years' number by 133. "This year is so much better

than last year in terms of where Relay for Life stands as an organization on campus," Ogawa said. Xavier's Relay for Life will take place on April 20, 2012 on the Xavier Yard. If you have not already signed up to participate, go to www.relayforlife.org/xu.