Spring Break
Letter to the Editor
Issue date: 5/21/09 Section: Forum
Relay for Life
Animal life should also be celebrated
Relay for Life was a great success! However, one of the Relay-sponsored activities seemed to contradict the life-saving purpose of the event.
Late into the night was a game called "Goldfish Pong," in which participants would throw ping-pong balls into cups and get a small plastic bag containing a live goldfish as a prize. When I saw people walking away from the booth holding their fish, my first thought was, "How are those fish going to make it through the night?"
The combination of the cold weather, the extreme exhaustion and sometimes intoxication of the Relay-for-Lifers was not conducive for caring for a delicate pet. In the morning, my concerns were confirmed: at nearby vacated campsites I spotted several bags of fish sitting forgotten among the trash. I picked one up and the inhabitant was barely moving.
Relay for Life is a wonderful cause, but let us not get so caught up in saving human lives that fish lives are lost without concern.
Caslin Gilroy
Senior in bioengineering
Animal life should also be celebrated
Relay for Life was a great success! However, one of the Relay-sponsored activities seemed to contradict the life-saving purpose of the event.
Late into the night was a game called "Goldfish Pong," in which participants would throw ping-pong balls into cups and get a small plastic bag containing a live goldfish as a prize. When I saw people walking away from the booth holding their fish, my first thought was, "How are those fish going to make it through the night?"
The combination of the cold weather, the extreme exhaustion and sometimes intoxication of the Relay-for-Lifers was not conducive for caring for a delicate pet. In the morning, my concerns were confirmed: at nearby vacated campsites I spotted several bags of fish sitting forgotten among the trash. I picked one up and the inhabitant was barely moving.
Relay for Life is a wonderful cause, but let us not get so caught up in saving human lives that fish lives are lost without concern.
Caslin Gilroy
Senior in bioengineering
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