Photos by Nicole Maselli ‘14| The Lafayette
Two teams stared each other down from their hunched, ready positions, looking not to tackle each other, but the true opponent: cancer. Last Sunday, SMAC’s (Student Movement Against Cancer) first flag football tournament attracted over fifty Lafayette students during Fall Fest. Players and spectators gathered together on the Quad to raise money for cancer patients.
“We are trying to engage the college community in a fun event to help raise awareness and money for the Lehigh Valley Hospital,” SMAC co-President Jason Goldfarb ‘14 said. Goldfarb also served as the tournament’s referee.
SMAC Co-President Jaclyn Dornfeld ‘14 explained that the proceeds raised at all SMAC events, including the tournament, are donated to the Lehigh Valley Outpatients Care which provides cancer patients with a care fund.
The care fund allows patients to “have lives outside of chemotherapy by perhaps paying for a babysitter or something else that the family might need,” Dornfeld said.
SMAC advertised with the slogan “Do you hate cancer? Tackle it!” Additionally, the organization’s treasurer Ashley Ellis ‘16 collaborated with Nate Ritter ‘14 to create a bold t-shirt design to sell at the tournament. These proceeds were also sent to the Lehigh Valley Outpatient Care.
Amanda Schwartz ‘16, a board member on the Lafayette Activities Forum (LAF), served as the link between her organization and SMAC. Her job was to ensure SMAC a spot at the annual Fall Fest event. The festival featured food, a photo booth, apple bobbing, and tie-die shirts.
“It’s a great sunny afternoon. Lots of fun for everyone,” Reed Shapiro ‘14 said. Shapiro was a member of the flag football team called the Mopey ZooLions.
The fun continued with a blow-up obstacle course for flag football participants to race each other in as they waited for their team’s slot in the tournament.
SMAC Vice President Annie Compton ‘15 hopes this will become a Fall Fest staple.
“This is our first year participating in the Fall Fest,” Compton said. “We are always looking for new venues for our events and so far this has been a really terrific atmosphere. Hopefully we will be back next year.”
