Rec Hall helps Thon dancers, spectators

By DARYL LANG
Collegian Staff Writer

Poised to draw the biggest crowd of its 27-year history, the 1999 Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon will take place in Rec Hall for the first time.

With spacious grandstands, public restrooms and snack bar, Rec Hall promises a more spectator-friendly Thon than in previous years, said David Schaefer, overall public relations chair.

The main gym also has room for a bigger stage and the capacity to accommodate more dancers than the White Building, where Thon took place for 20 years.

Although spectators will enter the gym from the upper levels of the stands, bleachers on one side of the gym will be unfolded all the way down to the floor.

Christopher Bach, overall operations chair, said adjusting to the new location is a challenge partly because so many people are used to the "White Building Thon."

"It's going to be a little bit difficult for some people to picture it in Rec Hall," Bach said.

Thon committees have been working since the summer to iron out the logistics of the new location, said Brian Newmark, overall Thon chair.

The last time Thon changed locations was in 1979, when the event outgrew the HUB Ballroom and moved next door to the White Building.

The student-run fund-raiser has grown by leaps and bounds since then. Last year, it raised more than $2 million for The Four Diamonds Fund of the Hershey Medical Center.

Last year, the event was so crowded that officials had to turn away some students from the entrance during the final hours of the event.

This year, organizers expect 630 dancers to participate in Thon, up from 586 last year.

Could The Bryce Jordan Center be next?

"I don't know," Newmark said. "We're taking it one step at a time."