By Ashley Anglin

NKU’s Relay for Life Committee will kick off its fifth year with Paint the Plaza Purple November 17 and 18, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. There will be a booth in the Student Union where students can pay $1 to put their hand in purple paint and leave their print on a “Why I Relay” banner showing their support for cancer research. All proceeds go toward the Relay for Life at NKU while creating awareness of the event.

Teams who want to participate in Relay for Life, which will take place January 29, are also encouraged to sign their relay team up. By doing so, teams receive a hefty discount. The usual signup fee is $100 per team; however, if teams sign up at Paint the Plaza Purple or online before December 31, they will be able to sign up at a rate of $75 per team, saving them $25.

Paint the Plaza Purple is designed to get people to notice the effects of cancer and to recruit students to participate and become more aware of Relay for Life.

“This will be our fifth year in hosting Relay for Life on campus. It is one of the biggest events at NKU, and we hope to keep it that way,” said Nikki Sherbourne, NKU Relay for Life event chair.

There will be men’s and women’s T-shirts for sale during Paint the Plaza Purple for $15 each as well as luminarias for $5 each that individuals can purchase in memory of a friend or family member they know who has or had cancer.

“Relay for Life is as much an awareness raiser as it is a fundraiser,” said Ashley Clos, American Cancer Society representative “We all have been touched by cancer in some way, either personally or with a family member or friend, and the involvement here is proof of the progress being made in fighting cancer.”

Last year, NKU’s Relay for Life brought out many in support of cancer survivors and research. There were 22 teams present at the event.

“We hope to get more teams than ever before,” said Sherbourne. “Last year we raised $10,292. We want to do better than last year so NKU can be a larger part of supporting the cause.”

The money raised through Relay for Life and other American Cancer Society events goes toward areas of cancer research, of which more than $1.2 million is funding cancer research in Kentucky alone. Funds also go toward services such as transportation assistance for cancer patients, cancer support groups and the (800) 227-2345 telephone number that has trained cancer counselors available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It is estimated that 24,060 people in Kentucky will be diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and an estimated 9,410 Kentuckians will die from some form of the disease.

NKU’s Relay for Life committee is also seeking out any cancer survivors to be honored at the Relay for Life event.

“We want to try to find cancer survivors to attend our event and even to create a team,” said Clos. “By having survivors present, everyone participating is able to see that their efforts are going to a good cause, and survivors can see that people truly care.”

If you are interested in participating in the Relay for Life or are a survivor who would be interested in being involved in the event, contact Nikki Sherbourne at sherbournn1@nku.edu.

For additional information, contact the American Cancer Society at (800) 227-2345 or visit http://cancer.org.

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International Education Week is a week filled with academic and cultural events that highlight the importance of having a globally focused education. This week is filled with exciting international performances as well as educational events for both students and the campus community. The week is highlighted by the keynote speaker, Dr. John Esposito, a university professor and an expert on Islam relations. His talk, “The Future of Islam: Muslim-West Relations,” will be November 18 at 2 p.m. in Eva G. Farris Auditorium (BEP 200). The entire campus community is invited to participate in this week of cultural experiences and education. More events can be found at http://studyabroad.nku.edu/iew.php.

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The Big Green Climb was a six-week campus-wide team-based challenge to save energy and promote health sponsored by the President’s Climate Commitment Task Force and the Wellness Center. People were challenged to take the stairs and avoid energy usage and expenditure.

It costs NKU approximately 2.5 cents each time an elevator button is pushed. It was estimated that if each person on campus avoided pushing the button four times per day for a year, that the savings could be up to $218,000.

At a staff luncheon, Dr. Votruba recently challenged all those at NKU to take advantage of the many benefits of the Wellness Center on campus to become the healthiest university in the commonwealth of Kentucky. Participating in challenges like the Big Green Climb is just one of the many ways to take care of your personal wellbeing with the support of your professors, friends, coworkers and fellow students.

Teams were composed of more than 400 students and more than 200 employees. Some teams were all students and some teams were all employees. What is even more exciting is that many teams had both employees and students coming together to make a difference. More than 60 percent of the teams who registered continued climbing each week for a total of 301,112 flights climbed.

Every elevator door bore information about the Big Green Climb. All stairwell doors had wellness and green messages. People across the campus and even visitors to the campus were challenged to consider their energy usage and health in new and different ways. Dialogs were sparked and conversations took place. Stairwells, normally deserted, were busy throughout the day.

Five silk lilac trees have been planted on the NKU plaza to dedicate the campus’ commitment to our personal wellbeing and that of the Earth’s.

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Watch and discuss this Moroccan film at the Carnegie Center for Visual and Performing Arts. November 18, 7:30 p.m.

Limit of 25 free tickets. Tickets are first come, first served. Contact the Office of International Students and Scholars to pick up a ticket at X-7976 or X-6517. Transportation to the Carnegie will be made available if required. To read a review, go to http://www.cincyworldcinema.org.

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The NKU senior leadership nursing students are having two poster day presentations. The first presentation will be December 4 in SU 107, 10 a.m.-noon. The second presentation will be December 9 in SU 109, 3-5 p.m. These students have actively worked in healthcare settings throughout the community. They have concentrated on change projects aimed at better healthcare. Informative posters will be on view. The students will be available to answer questions. All are encouraged to come.

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All of Campus Digest’s articles are available at http://campusdigest.nku.edu. They are also available in a Microsoft Word format (visit http://campusdigest.nku.edu/archive/2009Digest/20091113/CampusDigest.doc). Finally, you can receive these articles via e-mail in a graphical format (pictures and fancier formatting) by visiting http://listserv.nku.edu/mailman/listinfo/campusdigest or text-only format (no pictures, no fancy formatting) by visiting http://listserv.nku.edu/mailman/listinfo/campdigtextonly and following the instructions.

The next Campus Digest issue is December 11 (deadline December 4).

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Last modified: November 17 2009 11:22 EST