The students in Rec Hall are not the only Penn State students staying up more than 48 hours this weekend. In fact, Andrew Hall (freshman-information sciences and technology) will be staying up longer than all of the dancers in a small room in Johnston Commons.

Hall works at WEHR-FM (93.7) and will DJ continuously for 50 hours this weekend from 6 p.m. today to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Melissa Fehr (senior-biology), a program director at the station, says the radio station's dubbed "Alternathon" has been going on for four years. "A lot of times people walk by and they don't realize we're the student radio station on this campus," she said, "and this is a way that we can let them know that we're here."

Fehr said the marathon is called Alternathon because it's the same weekend as Penn State's Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon and the station's DJ goes for 50 hours instead of Thon's 48.

"It was sort of a 'we can go longer than you can' type of thing. It's just a fun competition," Fehr said.

Hall is allowed to leave the station to get food and go to the bathroom, but he has to stay awake the entire 50 hours, Fehr said. Other DJ's and support staff from the radio station will visit him to keep him sane.

Scott Turnbull (senior-French), one of the music directors for the station, participated in the Alternathon with Brian Garthwaite (senior-architectural engineering) in 1999.

Turnbull said that Jeff Heyman, general manager of the radio station in 1998, thought up the idea and participated in it by himself. "After 20 hours he couldn't handle it anymore," Turnbull said.

Turnbull and Garthwaite were the first two to successfully complete Alternathon but Hall is trying to be the first to complete the task solo.

Alternathon was not the first name for WEHR's 50-hour extravaganza, Turnbull said. "At first we called it Anti-Thon, but we didn't want to seem like we were being against Thon, so then we changed it to Alternathon."

Hall said he is planning on playing a variety of music throughout the affair including electronica, indie rock and bands ranging from Crystal Method and Chemical Brothers to Filter. He looks forward to playing extended sets, but admits the hard part would be staying awake the entire time. "I mean I only have enough Mountain Dew for so long," h e said.

Hall said he was 70 percent sure he could last. "My goal is to be on the mic, on the turntables 100 percent of the time," he said.

Students can hear Hall's marathon effort on Housing and Food Service's Channel 21 on campus.