Hallucinating dancers. Tiring hours. Smelly feet.

To a moraler, it's all in a weekend's work.

On Feb. 18, about 500 moralers will burst onto the scene in Rec Hall to make sure the atmosphere at the 2005 Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon is never dull -- even at 4 a.m.

"We have been working for three and a half months," Red Morale Captain Aryn Gabai said. "We've had time to gel and create events, and now meeting our dancers is the icing on the cake."

Although moralers are excited, some are a little wary about the obstacles that they will encounter.

"You always have to be putting someone else in front of you the whole weekend," Pink Morale Captain Erica Foley said. "It's hard because our shifts are four hours on and four hours off -- in that time, you need to walk home, eat, sleep, shower and come back full of energy even though you probably didn't really get to sleep. By Sunday, that's kind of hard."

Steve Tornetta (sophomore-business) said he lives in Beaver Hall, a 20-minute walk from Rec Hall.

"I'm not going to get much sleep ... so I'm not sure how I'm feeling about that, but I'm thinking I'll manage," he said. "It's the kids that I'm doing it for, so what else am I going to do?"

Moralers are also responsible for providing gifts for their dancers, but Foley said the best gifts are homemade.

"Some moralers are nervous about how to motivate their dancers and what to bring them, and some people are nervous about spending money," Foley said.

"I have been stressing to my team to make things that are easy and doesn't cost a lot, but still shows them that you care," she said.

Zach Vosseler (junior-elementary education) views the money he spends on his dancer as his personal Thon contribution.

"At first when you realize that you have to pay for everything, it doesn't seem cool," he said.

"If Morale paid, that would be taking money away from the kids, and that's not cool -- it's our contribution," Vosseler added.

The morale motto, "Not one dancer quits," is accompanied by a long list of moraler do's and don'ts, Green Morale Captain Dan Kaufman said.

"Moralers must never ask a dancer how he or she is doing and never mention what time it is or draw attention to time," he said.

"Our job is to say, 'You're doing great for the kids.' A moraler will give a foot massage even if his or her dancer has smelly feet," he added.

The job also includes bringing some very tired dancers back to reality, Kaufman said.

"There comes a time late in the weekend where dancers sometimes start to hallucinate and see things that aren't there," he said. "As a moraler, you have to bear with them until they come back. Agree with them -- say, 'Yeah, of course there are goats in Rec Hall, there are every year.' As long as it doesn't get serious, it's OK."

Angie Young (junior-recreation, park and tourism management) said she knows about dancer loopiness and how to handle it.

"Toward the end of the event, [my friend's dancer] decided to play some basketball and thought he was doing great and making all these baskets, but instead, he was actually just throwing them at people ... he had no idea what was going on."

Though it is hard work, moralers are there to create an atmosphere of constant energy, Kaufman said. "We are there to keep them motivated with positive energy and a positive attitude, and to make sure that dancers concentrate more on what's going on in Rec Hall than on their feet," Kaufman said.