So many things divide Butler University’s student body, whether it be graduation year, major, Greek affiliation—or lack thereof—political ideals, or even favorite color.

But on Friday, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event at the Health and Recreation Complex brought participants together in a way that I have not seen before on this campus.

Cancer doesn’t care what year people are, what Greek house they’re in, how much money they’re going to make after graduation or how many people love and care about them.

Cancer is a disease that is universal, and it has touched the lives of each Butler student, including those who have lost loved ones to the disease and those who have not.

I was truly moved by the togetherness as I walked around the track at the HRC and saw men and women of different affiliations and groups crying and consoling one another.

Relay for Life, or Dance Marathon earlier in the year and Butler sports, are events that we, the Butler community, can all rally behind.

We must use these moments to remind us that there is more that unites us than separates us.  We are all Bulldogs, Americans and humans.

The nearly $54,000 that Butler’s Relay for Life raised to fight cancer is an astonishing amount that should make everyone who participated in the event proud.

Two of the main speakers  turned the event from just another function where students could hang out into an emotionally charged affair.

Cancer survivors Heather Banks and Jim Wesp, father of Butler student Sarah Wesp, spoke at Relay for Life about their fights with the disease.

They talked about how their battles with the disease have made them stronger people, made them appreciate life more and taught them that there are things worth fighting tooth and nail for.

These ideas of community and togetherness are best described in the words of author J.K. Rowling. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” Rowling wrote, “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.”

I believe that we have seen some great things happen to Butler.

We’ve seen streng and unity in our community from the back-to-back national title game runs by the men’s basketball team.

More recent events include Dance Marathon, Relay for Life and the Butler Palooza concert on the mall on Saturday.

It would be foolish to think that there will be a point when all in the Butler community can get along perfectly.

But I hope that, in the coming years, we as a community can work on respecting our differences and find ways to work together to improve our school and our society.

Given the economic situation, it is no surprise that most young graduates face challenges finding jobs, even in fields with high demand.

The latest example of frustrated college graduates is the anonymous Boston College third-year law student, who wrote an open letter to the dean, proposing to exchange his degree for a full tuition reimbursement.

The most recent Labor Department statistics show the unemployment rate in the United States at 9.6 percent. The jobless rate has now topped 9.5 percent for 14 straight months.

“Butler graduates are holding up very well in a tough economy,” Director of Internship and Career Services Gary Beaulieu said. “In 2009, 92 percent of graduates were employed full time, in graduate school or completing gap year experiences six months post graduation.”

Beaulieu expects the class of 2010 to show similar statistics, but says this information will not be available until December.

Despite the statistics, many Butler graduates have had a hard time finding employment.

2009 Butler graduate Ethan Lees said it was difficult to rely on Butler’s career search Web site because of its similarity to other career search Web sites. He believes it would be helpful if it the Web site was more tailored to graduates.

“Finding a job in the field of journalism has been challenging, especially considering that online search options are not much help,” Lees said. “I’ve been going through family members and have gotten better results from that.”

Beaulieu said that graduates’ experience varies across the board, depending on their majors.

The fields that have seen the most demand and easiest job placement are accounting, actuarial science, biology, chemistry, pharmacy, education, public relations and arts administration.

On the other hand, he said that many fields, like marketing, are seeing a downsizing trend.

However, as much as a particular field may not be in high demand, he says that there are many things beyond a major that may impact a student’s chance for success in the job market.

According to an ABC News article, in his letter, the student alleged that the school’s career services were insufficient in helping him find employment. This is a scary claim, considering university career services are often the starting point for a student’s job search.

Internship and Career Services at Butler assists students in increasing their job success rate by providing practice interviews and resume and cover letter writing workshops.

Beaulieu encourages students to network and seek out connections that lead to potential job opportunities.

“You never know who knows somebody that can help you connect to someone who will lead to an internship or a job,” he said.

Regardless of their post-graduate intentions, the one thing that Beaulieu recommends for students is an internship experience, even if a major doesn’t require one.

“Many employers are not even looking at students who haven’t completed an internship,” Beaulieu said.