While thousands gather in Rec Hall to kickoff the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, police are looking forward to a quiet Friday and Saturday night.

"We ought to have a Thon every weekend," said Sgt. John Gardner of the State College Police Department.

However, Penn State University Police are providing security coverage and traffic control for the event, Penn State University Police Supervisor Dwight Smith said.

"In the scheme of things, the vast majority of the people that attend the events have not been drinking and are well behaved," Smith said. "It's a small minority of individuals that come to
the event intoxicated and cause problems."

Because Rec Hall can hold more than 10,000 people at one time, crowd control is a primary concern for Penn State Police, Smith said.

"We generally find that toward the end of the event we have some overcrowding issues," he said.

Penn State police officers will be stationed inside and outside Rec Hall at all times from the beginning of the festivities to the end, Smith said.

Thon organizers have worked closely with police services to prepare for disruptive incidents, said Evan Jacobs, Thon rules and regulations chair.

This year, event officials will be tracking the number of individuals who enter Rec Hall, Jacobs said, and a new online database will make it this process easier.

"We'll be able to keep better tabs on who's on the floor," Jacobs said. "Once the building is filled to capacity, [police] tell us to shut the doors down."

Despite 48 hours of continuous traveling and thousands of passengers going to and from Rec Hall, past Thon weekends have given Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) bus drivers a break from normal weekend night behavior, said Eric Bernier, CATA's service development manager.

"For Thon, I don't think we had any incidents last year," he said. "That's not a typical weekend."

"We'll deal with our share of alcohol overdoses and intoxicated individuals that decide to attend the event," he added.

Four buses, two each on the Blue and White Loop routes, will run nonstop until 12:30 a.m. Monday, and buses will arrive at stops every 10 minutes, Bernier said.

About 4,000 passengers used the 24-hour service for one night during Thon last year, he said.

Motorists can expect delays or road closings on Curtin Road during peak times in the evening, Smith said.