Before I get to my point, let me start by clarifying a few things, so there's no confusion, and so I don't get killed by an angry mob. First off, I think Thon is great. It is a truly momentous fundraiser for the greatest of causes. The hard work, dedication, caring and sincerity displayed by most of the volunteers, organizers and dancers is worthy of the highest praise.

That said, something has bothered me about part of the whole Thon atmosphere since I have been here. It seems that some members of fraternities and sororities involved still want to be the focus of the attention. Every year I see sweatshirts worn that champion a particular sorority or fraternity for how great of a job they did while seeming to give only a passing mention to the kids, who are the whole reason for Thon. I'm not saying these types of hoodies are rampant, but they are there, and it disgusts me.

Every year I see away messages that simply say, "(insert fraternity or sorority here) is so incredibly great and awesome, what a great job we did" and barely bother to mention the people who make Thon what it is -- the kids.

The fact that some of the people involved in Thon use it as an opportunity to pat themselves on the back and remind everyone who gets close enough to see their clothing about how wonderful they are sickens me.

These people should be proud of themselves, no doubt. They raise a great deal of money. In most cases, they put in a good deal of hard work, and I am sure, on some level, they truly care about what they are doing.

All too often, though, it appears to me like many of the greeks involved in Thon just want to make sure every one around them realizes how wonderful they are. I find this especially annoying amongst people who didn't do very much to contribute to Thon, only helping out in the most peripheral sense, but making sure that everyone knows how great they are for being a part of the proceedings.

I never hear the people who work behind the scenes, unaffiliated with a greek organization, doing this kind of crowing. They want to be a part of Thon because they want to make a difference. You don't hear much about the independent dancers either, the ones who had to scratch and claw to be a part of Thon, and then aren't even guaranteed to have supporters to help them through the tough moments like all the other affiliated dancers do. Those are the people who really know what Thon is about.

The fraternity and sorority members who love to trumpet their involvement should take note of the people who are actually making a sacrifice by their participation. My friend Pete is in one of the smaller fraternities on campus. His birthday was on Saturday. He spent that time on the floor, as a dancer.

Your birthday is the one day a year when it's pretty much OK to take an "all-about-me" attitude. Pete is going to have to wait a few days before he can walk without pain before he even tries to celebrate his. On the one day he could have cared about himself, he was doing something to make a difference for those less fortunate. That's sacrifice. That's something that should be lauded on a sweatshirt.

Unless those people who like to sit around and discuss with each other how wonderful they are for their cursory involvement in Thon decide to wise up and stop acting like the world revolves around them, these same aggravating trends will rear their ugly heads during what should be a time of triumph every year. I understand that self-serving displays like the ones I hate are partially motivated by pride, and I understand that pride also serves to make the people who go canning and raise money try to beat the previous year's total, and that is a good thing. But too much pride is dangerous, and in a lot of Thon-related cases, misguided.

The sweatshirt-wearers and away message-makers need to remember one thing. Above all else, Thon is 100 percent about the kids. It's about their families, and it's about hope. It's not about you, and it's not about how great you are. Doubtless you have plenty of equally shameless friends to tell you that on a daily basis. So take heed of the message here because if you don't, you might as well make sweatshirts that have your letters and say "FTG." Because for you, that's what Thon really is: For the Greeks.