[media-credit name=’YANA PASKOVA/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]University of Wisconsin students and staff rallied at Library Mall Tuesday afternoon to raise awareness for lung cancer.

Students in Life Science Communication 515 organized the so-called "Kick Your Butt" campaign, with help from the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center and University Health Services.

"One of the biggest problems that lung cancer faces is that people aren't aware that they're at risk," UWCCC representative Carleen Wild said.

Throughout the semester, LSC 515 students have been learning about how to run a public information campaign, with Tuesday's rally being the culmination of their efforts.

According to Owen Smith, a graduate student taking the class and one of the student coordinators, the goal of the project was to help a non-profit organization.

"We chose the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UW, and particularly this campaign, because it really resonated with us that our peers are in such great danger of becoming life long smokers," Smith said.

He went on to note that college-aged students were the only demographic experiencing an increase in terms of new smokers produced.

"We are right in the hive of 18 to 24 year olds," Smith said. "We're here to let that demographic know that they are the highest growing demographic of new smokers."

The students, along with Bucky Badger and several UW athletes, all clad in Kick Your Butt T-shirts, stood on Library Mall for two hours handing out pamphlets with information on lung cancer and tips on how to quit smoking. They also had a large banner where they encouraged passersby to sign their names in an anti-smoking pledge.

A focus of the group's efforts was to curb smoking among young women.

"One of the most significant numbers that lung cancer is seeing right now is just a huge increase in the number of women that have been diagnosed or are being diagnosed," Wild said.

Paula Craig, a Madison resident and lung cancer survivor, was in attendance and helped pass out pamphlets. She noted that lung cancer research received the least amount of money in terms of overall cancer research, and the Kick Your Butt campaign is helping raise awareness.

"Lung cancer [research] is very under funded, unfortunately," she said, "It's the deadliest cancer there is because it is so under funded, so the more money we can raise, the more awareness to make people stay healthy and not smoke, the better."

All participants at the rally urged anyone with questions or concerns to contact UHS for smoking cessation tactics.

"We are directing people that really want to quit to University Health Services," Smith said. "UHS offers a lot of motivation, resources, counseling and medication to students."