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What's the point of jogging? The students in SCNU have given a new meaning to night jogging in addition to keeping fit, that is, running for benevolence. At present, the Light Run is one of the most popular activities at South China Normal University, attracting a great number of students to participate, including those who come from other universities.
Organized by the Youth Volunteer Association of South China Normal University, the Light Run is held on the Shipai campus of SCNU in March and November every year. As a school-level activity, the Light Run on the Shipai campus is characterized by the theme of benevolence, aiming to spread the idea of "health, positiveness and public welfare" to students in the form of a sports activity. 2019 was the fifth year for the Light Run. "Students are very active this year, and it is estimated that the number of participants exceeded 2,000" says Zhang Yuwei, one of the organizers of the Light Run.
What makes it special?
According to Zhang Yuwei, the main theme of beneficence distinguishes this Light Run from light run activities at other universities, making it a special event of SCNU. The Youth Volunteer Association also works to setting up different games with the elements of charity, so as to make the activity more interesting and meaningful, Zhang said.
Games giving expressions to themes
On the day of the activity, there are some stalls for rest and games beside the route of the light run. Participants only need to run from the start and reach different stalls to play the games. The themes of the Light Run vary every year. Last year, it focused on giving, encouraging students to donate renewable things to people who are in need. To enter the activity, students were supposed to donate old things in order to get admission to games. Zhang told us that things donated by participants were all given to charity at the end.
The theme of this year was concern for disadvantaged people. Therefore, games like "pain crawls", "love doesn't need to be written by hand" and "blind people touch elephants" were designed to arouse attention for the disadvantaged. The game "love without handwriting" required participants to write the Chinese character for love without using their hands. “I was asked to write some words with my wrists,” one of participants Li Feifei said. “At first I thought it was just interesting, but when I finally made it, I realized how hard it is for disadvantaged people to write”.
Students in the activity
A participant writes with her wrist
“Blind people touch elephants” was another meaningful game. Participants were asked to wear an eye mask and identify people by touching their hands. The games aim was to make students understand the difficulties of disabled people and pay more attention to this special group, the staff of the Youth Volunteer Association said.
Zhang Yuwei says that the Light Run is held every year, and the forms are very interesting and diverse. She hopes that students of our university, including international students, can participate in it together.
Written by Li Siqin, Chen Xiaodan
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Reviewed by Li Jianru
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