Relay for Life hosted their annual kickoff event, “Spooking out Cancer.”
 The events at the kickoff included a “Thriller” competition, “Pie-A-Professor,” a sack and spoon race, and a cake walk.    Their mission this year is to make VSU aware of Relay for Life and to get more students involved.
 “We are going to have plenty of entertainment this year, awareness events about cancer, and many more events leading up to our big Relay Walk in April,” said Jansen Balisi, Chair of VSU Relay for Life. “Our theme for the year is ‘Lights, Camera, Action for a Cure.’ We want to incorporate fun and entertainment while also raising awareness about cancer and Relay for Life.”
 The Relay for Life walk is April 23-24 and anyone who registered during the kickoff were able to register for free; the regular registration fee is $10 per person or $100 per team.
 “When I first started Relay for Life, I only did it for volunteer hours, but the more involved I got, [the more] I saw how big of a difference we could make. My grandfather died a year later from cancer and I was so happy I had already joined,” said Balisi.
  The event started off with a quick comment from Dr. Schloss, and then the many activities started.
 The Pie-A-Professor contest had the most student participants. Professors Mark Smith, Evan Ortlieb, Susan Wehling, and Michael Noll all participated.
 The “Thriller” contest had a lot of VSU students pretending to be Michael Jackson, and the popular sack and spoon contest involved students trying to race to the finish line inside a sack or holding an egg on a spoon.
 A lot of students seemed to enjoy the kickoff. “I had a good time. I enjoyed the music, the Pie-A-Professor contest and the little dog running around,” said Fahaad Alghamdi, English Language Institute transfer student.
“I believe [that] since so many people are affected by cancer, I think it is our job to stand up for them and help out in any way we can,” said Chelsey Dejong, senior English Creative Writing major.
Relay for Life’s next event will be tomorrow on Palms Quad and they will be serving pink ice cream from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
 If you would like to participate in any way with Relay for Life, you are encouraged to join their Facebook group, “VSU Relay for Life,” and attend their weekly meeting on Thursdays at the UC.