Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG) representatives confronted Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon officials on Friday night about proposed changes in miniature versions of Thon that are held at commonwealth campuses.

Mini-Thons have become popular at some commonwealth campuses in the past three to five years. Although the events differ from campus to campus, some of the events consist of a shorter version of Thon, with dancers spending long, uninterrupted periods of time on their feet.

CCSG representatives said the mini-Thons play an integral role in motivating students at their campuses to participate in Thon and in raising money.

However, until recently, the Thon overall committee was unaware of the mini-Thons.

Lena Matternas, Thon rules and regulations overall, said she only found out about the mini-thons about two months ago.

About two weeks ago, the Thon overall committee notified CCSG representatives in an email that mini-Thons could not be held "in their current state," citing concerns about safety and liability.

Last night, multiple CCSG representatives said that their mini-thons had been "canceled" and asked why more steps had not been taken to ensure compliance beforehand.

"I want to know what you've done to make mini-thons possible, and not just canceling them," said Ken Middlemiss, vice president of the Penn State Behrend Student Government Association.

However, Thon representatives disputed the use of the term "cancelled." They said the events just had to be properly registered and approved by the Thon overall committee.

Matternas asked all commonwealth campus Thon committees to contact her to work out compromises.

"We'll see what we can do to work with you," she said.

Check Monday's Daily Collegian for the full story.