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Participants band together to keep energy level up at Relay for Life

(Jasmine Aquino/Daily Bruin)

By Jasmine Aquino and Janet Nguyen

April 27, 2014 11:48 a.m.

Students pulled a sled around the track of Drake Stadium Sunday morning, serenading Relay For Life participants with lyrics from Disney’s “Frozen” in an effort to keep them energized.

With tents sprawled across the field, participants woke up to the sound of the “Circle of Life” from “The Lion King.”

Catholics Against Cancer, one of this year’s Relay teams, built a sled resembling one from the movie “Frozen.”

Their sled has been on the track for nearly the entire event, providing tired participants with a brief rest from the exhausting course.

This year’s Relay For Life of UCLA celebrated “Seasons of Hope,” a theme that allowed each participating team to pick a different season to signify that cancer can affect individuals at any time.

Catholics Against Cancer was assigned winter and chose “Frozen” as their theme.

Some participants at the event said they felt a sense of community on the track.

“Individual effort is great because it’s what starts it all,” said Gareth Monteiro, a third-year history student. “The idea of more people coming together is amazing.”

Elsewhere on the course, members of other teams continued to walk in the early hours of the morning.

Brandishing a white flag with red Theta Chi Greek lettering, Sean Atamdede began the relay 3 p.m. the day before and hasn’t slept since he started.

The flag has traversed the track for the entire event, carried for about 40 miles.

The third-year neuroscience student and other Theta Chi members participated in the event in memory of a 2004 UCLA alumnus who passed away from cancer in 2010.

“The event has a different meaning for each (fraternity member),” Atamdede said. “But it definitely feels good to know so many people are united by a single good cause.”

Atamdede passed the flag to Alex Jimenez, another fraternity member and a fourth-year geography student.

Carrying a string of more than a hundred colored beads, Jimenez said that he decided to take part in the fight against cancer in memory of his cousin who passed away from a brain tumor.

Relay for Life will end with a “Fight Back” closing ceremony this afternoon.

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Jasmine Aquino | Alumnus
Jasmine Aquino was an assistant Opinion editor in the 2016-2017 year. Previously, she was an Opinion and News contributor.
Jasmine Aquino was an assistant Opinion editor in the 2016-2017 year. Previously, she was an Opinion and News contributor.
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