The show must go on.

Though severe temperatures and snow accumulation present hazards to students while canning, participants' spirits are still high.

"The families will benefit from every single dollar they receive," said Sean Miller, overall finance chair for the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

Before canning weekends, Thon chairs look into any weather issues.

"We closely monitor the storm and tell people to stay away from certain areas," Miller said.

There are no official rules regarding the weather, said Seth Moser, Thon rules and regulations chair.

"We take it on a case-by-case basis," Moser said.

Thon chairs alert their team captains when weather issues may come into play over the weekend.

"We get e-mails from the overalls saying to watch the cold and your health," said Christina Caruccio, West Halls Residence Association (WHRA) Thon chair.

Unless Thon overall chairs cancel a canning weekend, decisions are left up to the individual organizations, said Michael O'Connor (junior-computer science and biology), Springfield House Thon member.

"Thon chairs can make their own decisions if they haven't canceled the weekend," said O'Connor, who is also the rules and regulations committee fund-raising captain.

There are other ways to raise money if organizations would rather stay out of the cold.

"We've been stressing alternative methods, like phone banking. We will provide organizations with lists of previous donors to call," Miller said.

Miller added that his main concern was the safety of students who are canning.

Despite the cold, many groups still went out canning, although their load tended to be lighter, both going and coming back.

For WHRA, only three people participated during the last canning weekend, Caruccio said.

"The weather conditions made some people not want to drive," she said.

Brian Bailey (senior-electrical engineering) said the cold put a damper on the Engineering Leadership Development Unlimited canning trip last weekend.

"We went out Saturday for about eight hours, but Sunday we decided not to go because it was too cold. We lost about $500 to $600," Bailey said.

The cold also seemed to alter the amount brought in by other organizations.

"I got the sense that there were less people donating than usual," said Caruccio.

Bailey said he also noticed a change in the behavior of potential donators.

"People didn't want to roll their windows down," said Bailey.

O'Connor observed another trend of contributors while canning last weekend.

"We collect less overall when it's snowing, but the people who do donate tend to be more generous," he said.

In the end, many participants said, the money total is not the important issue at hand.

"We put a lot of effort in not focusing on the total," Moser said.

Miller agreed that the amount of money isn't what Thon is about.

"I don't worry, I know that whatever we do, we do for the families," he said.