Kicking Cancer

TRT: 3:35

ANCHOR LEDE: 

“CANCER… A DISEASE THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES. IT DOESN’T PICK ITS VICTIMS BY RACE, GENDER OR INCOME LEVEL, BUT WHEN IT PICKS A PERSON… IT STRIKES HARD. FOR YEARS MEMBERS OF THE SIGMA NU FRATERNITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HAVE COMBATTED CANCER BY RAISING MONEY FOR RESEARCH THROUGH AN ANNUAL EVENT CALLED KICKIN IT FOR A CURE. DAILY IOWAN TV REPORTER ANDREW ROBERTS TOOK AN IN DEPTH LOOK INTO THIS YEAR’S EVENT AND HOW IT WAS DIFFERENT THAN PERVIOUS YEARS.”

“A SUNNY SUNDAY AFTERNOON…. FULL OF FRIENDS, FOOD AND FUN… BUT BEHIND IT ALL…. A SERIOUS GOAL IS AT HAND…. KICKING CANCER OUT OF THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS. BROTHERS OF SIGMA NU FRATERNITY ARE RAISING MONEY FOR CANCER RESEARCH THROUGH AN ANNUAL KICKBALL TOURNAMENT. YET ONE BROTHER WAS NOT IN ATTENDANCE AT THIS YEAR’S EVENT… MAKING IT MORE IMPACTFUL THAN EVER BEFORE.”

“IN THE SPRING OF 20-15 BROTHER RODRIC JACKSON WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BRAIN CANCER, A DISEASE THAT CLAIMS NEARLY 17,000 LIVES A YEAR. YET JACKSON WAS DETERMINED TO WIN HIS BATTLE WITH CANCER. AFTER FIGHTING FOR NEARLY A YEAR HE RETURNED TO THE UI AS A STUDENT AND CHOOSE TO LIVE IN THE FRATERNITY HOUSE WITH 40 OF HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS DESPITE DOCTORS ADVISING AGAINST IT.”

“ALL WAS GOING WELL UNTIL NOVEMBER OF 2015… WHEN DOCTORS TOLD JACKSON HIS CANCER WAS CHANGING AND TREATING IT WOULD BE MORE DIFFICULT. DETERMINED AS HE WAS… JACKSON CONTINUED TO FIGHT BACK. BUT AS TIME PROGRESSED HIS CONDITION WORSENED AND ON FEBRUARY 19TH 2016 RODRIC COLIN JACKSON DIED…. HE WAS JUST 21 YEARS OLD.”

“AND SO… AS APRIL ARRIVED… THE BROTHERS TOOK TO THE FIELD FOR SOME KICKBALL WITH ONLY ONE THING ON THEIR MINDS… RODRIC. AFTER A GREAT AFTERNOON A CHAMPION WAS CROWNED… BUT THERE WAS STILL ONE THING LEFT TO DO… THE FOLLOWING EVENING A COMMEMORATION OF JACKSON’S LIFE WAS HELD ON THE UI CAMPUS AND A LARGE CROWD GATHERED TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS.”

“JUST MOMENTS AGO MEMBERS OF THE JACKSON FAMILY, HIS FRIENDS AND FRATERNITY BROTHERS MET HERE IN THE SECOND FLOOR BALLROOM OF THE IMU TO CELEBRATE RODRIC’S LIFE AND TO SHARE SOME OF THE LASTING MEMORIES THAT THEY WILL CHERISH FOREVER.”

[RODNEY JACKSON] “IF YOU KNEW RODRIC, YOU KNOW HE WAS A SPITFIRE. HE WOULD CALL YOU A NAME AND IN A MINUTE AND LAUGH AT YOU AND ASK YOU WHY? WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU? THAT WAS MY SON I MEAN FROM THE DAY HE WAS BORN UNTIL THE DAY HE PASSED.”

[TY McCLLELAND] “HE DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO BE DOWN, HE ALWAYS WAS A POSITIVE GUY. HE HAD TO FIND THE JOY IN EVERYTHING.”

[SHERWIN ROBINSON] “AND HE HAD A GREAT HUMOR ANYBODY THAT KNOW HIM KNOW THAT HE WOULDN’T WANT ANY OF US TO SHED SAD TEARS. ANY TEARS THAT WE SHED BE TEARS OF GOOD MEMORIES.”

[TY McCLLELAND]  “HE KNEW THAT HAVING MONEY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT WASN’T GONNA FIND HIM TRUE HAPPINESS. HE FOUND HAPPINESS IN HIS FRIENDS, HIS FAMILY.”

[RODNEY JACKSON] “HE LOVED SIGMA NU. I MEAN HE WAS SO PROUD TO BE A SIGMA GUY. I MEAN WHEN YOU SAY THAT WORD TO HIM IT JUST MEANS EVERYTHING. UM BEING IN THE FRAT HOUSE JUST MADE HIS DAY. SO I THANK YOU GUYS FOR TAKING HIM INTO YOUR LIFE AND MAKING HIM YOUR BROTHER. SO IN TURN WE TAKE YOU INTO OUR LIVES. YOU GUYS ARE ALL OUR SONS AND WE APPRECIATE YOU AND LOVE YOU.”

[TY McCLLELAND] “I THINK HE LIVED FOR 21 YEARS AND HE GOT A GOOD 21 YEARS. HE LIVED IT JUST HOW HE WANTED TO.”

SIG OUT: “RODRIC JACKSON WILL BE REMEBERED AS MANY THINGS. A LOVING SON, A GREAT FRIEND, AND A RUTHLESS FIGHTER. I AM PERSONALLY HONORED TO HAVE GOTTENT TO KNOW HIM. IN THE IMU… ANDREW ROBERTS… DAILY IOWAN TV.”