Go the distance with Relay For Life

> Locals encouraged to #acceptthebaton in upcoming relays to save lives

Aaron Guillen
Staff Reporter

 

any know someone,

whether they be a family
member or a friend, who has
dealt with cancer. Frustration,
pain, and anger often grow
during this time in a person’s
life, with patients overwhelmed
by constant questions on the
many hopes and dreams they had
hoped to accomplish. Yet through
it all, there’s hopefully a form of
a support system, there to help
those who need it. The Canadian
Cancer Society [CCS] believes
that no one should go through
the fight against cancer alone—
and that’s why they started the
Relay For Life movement.

Every year, the Relay For
Life takes place across Canada
in towns and cities to give
communities the chance to show
their support for cancer research.
This event showcases teams who
run laps for 12 hours, fueled by
the fundraising that takes place.
Tri-City News sat down

with Ruth Nance, a longtime

volunteer and grandmother
whose life has been forever
changed after surviving her fight
with cancer. She recalled her
time with cervical cancer and
expressed her gratitude towards
the CCS for partially funding the
research for her road to recovery.
The celebration of life that takes

place every year to give thanks
to the head organizers gives her
opportunities to connect with
others and share her story.

“We're supposed to be there
for each other. I’ve met some of
the most amazing people through
volunteering for this,” Nance
explained. “We're not supposed

  

Image via thinkstock

to be [there] for ourselves. Get
involved, whether it’s with the
Relay, donating, supporting or
volunteering. Just come together.”
As Nance looks forward to
participating in the Relay For
Life once again, Chris and Sarah
Caverly are likeminded. The
Maple Ridge siblings have been

DSU returns from the BCFS Skills
Development Weekend

> Student Representatives ready to apply new knowledge

Jamal Al-Bayaa
Staff Writer

 

n May 27, 8 out of 12 of the

Douglas Students’ Union’s
representatives attended the BC
Federation of Students Skills
Development Weekend, a three-
day workshop in Sun Peaks,
focusing on what it takes to be an
effective student representative
and student advocate.

Regularly, a student
representative's job is to take care
of the internal aspects of their
college. First and foremost, this
includes the students and their
college experience, especially
achieving the goals that they
promised in the election, goals
which students agreed with
enough to vote for. However, it
also relates to the running of the
school, maintenance of buildings,
promotion and organization
of events and the providing
of assistance to clubs. In this
internal level, representatives are
required to make a lot of financial
decisions on where the DSU’s
budget would be best spent.

As a member of the BC
Federation of Students, the DSU
can also get involved in less
urgent but equally important
provincial level campaigns

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‘s i" %,
wth
and connections. The DSU
was 1 of 12+ attendees of this
skill weekend, and so they got
ample opportunity to connect,
share, and learn with other
students’ unions across BC.
“We are lobbying groups
by nature,” Aran Armutlu,
Treasurer, said after the event.
“We want to be able to go to
government and have a voice
because we're stronger than ever.”
In doing so, they have
the opportunity to effect the

300,000+ adults that attend a
college, university, or institution
in BC every year. Campaigns
like “Squash the Squeeze” and
“Don't Close the Doors” are
efforts by the BC Federation of
Students to decrease tuition fees
for students, increase funding
to post-secondary, return
funding where it has been cut,
and make education less of a
privilege and more of a right.
These campaigns began with
the belief that education should

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be easily accessible to everyone,
and that when students do
choose to enter post-secondary
they shouldn't have to deal with
the provincial average of $35,000
in debt upon exiting. “Having this
type of society,” it was explained,
“is better for everyone.”

Douglas hasn't been part
of any major campaigning
in a while, and their internal
status is less than perfect
while they work on building
relationships, reputations, and

 

through thick and thin together,
before they each fought cancer,
and especially after both parents
passed away after losing their own
battle with cancer. The Caverlys
have raised more than $190,000
over the nine years they’ve
participated, and regularly

look forward to spreading their
message of hope to others.

“Chris’ favourite memory
is participating in the
survivor lap with his sister
and mom,” commented Sara
Caverly to Tri-City News.

“We have both always felt
that when you get a life-changing
disease you have to give back or
stay involved somehow or way.
The Relay has been that for us.”

Recently, Coquitlam’s Relay
for Life, celebrating 25 years, took
place and raised over $237,000
for cancer research. With hopes
to raise over $30 million this
year, Relay For Life has planned
events across Canada in the
coming months. In the Lower
Mainland, there will be relays
on June 1 in Delta and on June
18 in Richmond and Surrey.

momentum. Despite this, the
representatives recognized their
strengths and their weaknesses,
and knew they wanted to
improve their situation.

“One of my favourite parts
of the weekend was the strategic
planning workshop,” Iman
Adbulla, Women’s Liason, said.
“The Douglas Student Union
has never had a strategic plan
before, so us creating those 1
year, 5 year, and 10 year plans
will solidify the direction we
want to push the DSU in.”

Similarly, Armutlu expressed
satisfaction at2 the fact that he
was bringing back ready-to-
use information on finances,
working with administration,
and strategic planning.

That information will be
crucial in the coming weeks, as
the DSU will be working with
staff and administration to create
a comprehensive strategic plan
that will focus on both short
term and long term targets.
Ideally, it will first seek to clear
up the internal side of Douglas
College’s politics, and then
focus more heavily on moving
to those provincial campaigns
to fight against the rising cost of
tuition in BC and the continually
increasing levels of student debt.