At Penn State, one of the biggest sources of pride is THON, the 46-hour dance marathon that is held annually. The marathon raises money for the families of children with childhood cancer, and this year, Penn State raised over 10 million dollars. As great as this event may seem, my experience at THON was turned sour this year, and it was due to certain members of Greek life.
For those who aren't as familiar with THON, those who aren't dancing in the marathon stay in the stands of the Bryce Jordan Center and cheer on the dancers representing their organization, club, or team. Specifically, members of Greek life make huge cutouts of their Greek letters so when the camera for the jumbotron pans to the stands, they can show off the pride of their fraternity or sorority.
However, some Greek orgs force their members to hold up the signs around the clock, which ends of obstructing the view of those who in the stands behind them. That in and of itself isn't a huge deal, but let me walk you through the frustration that my organization went through while attending THON.
Once we arrived in the basketball arena, the Bryce Jordan Center, my friends and I attempted to find some space to set up. The 46 hours began with us fighting for two rows in the back of section occupied by Delta Chi and Kappa Kappa Gamma, a fraternity and sorority on campus.
Not only were the rows being held for other members, (which isn't allowed by the way), but when one of the Rules and Regulations committee members, who are in charge of handling the crowds at THON, told them to give up their rows for us, they refused. A superior had to be called in to make them give us the spots behind them.
After that, they were nothing but rude to us. I understand that the Greek orgs want their letters to be seen and they practically force their members to hold them up all the time, but they held them right in front of our faces as our group performed onstage.
We asked them politely, but they were only concerned with themselves. Which brings me to my main point: THON is becoming more about recognition and clout than about the kids with childhood cancer.
People are rude, standoffish, and will do anything to get more space in the stands for their club. That's never what the event is about. It's about community, kindness, and support for the cause. But at this THON I realized that a lot of people who go do not practice what they preach.
They'll post their picture and scream "FTK" while doing the line dance, but if they can't show the slightest bit of empathy and compassion to fellow students in the stands, then THON will quickly become an event that I will not want to attend. And that breaks my heart. But, near the end of THON, another frat let us have some of their rows in the back, and I was able to finish THON in good spirits.
The rude people are in the minority at THON, but all I'm asking is that we all show each other with kindness and respect, and focus on the kids instead of ourselves.
