Correction appended
Students hustled around the Bryce Jordan Center this morning, setting up for the 35th Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, which will kick off at 6 p.m. today when 700 dancers take to their feet.
On the floor level, students busily fit rubber mats together to cover the entire floor where dancers will spend 46 hours without sleeping or sitting.
"They may seem hard, but compared to when you're standing on concrete for a long time, the mats make a difference," public relations overall chairman Mike Petrasek (senior-journalism) said.
Students from committees including OPP, morale and rules and regulations started setting up at 5 a.m.
Back in one of the halls, students carried materials in from a truck outside as snowflakes fell heavily around them.
"Unloading has gone so well 'cause teams are lined up bringing things in," Petrasek said.
While some teams worked to construct the dancers' storage units, others helped by moving in larger equipment.
"Set-up's going really smoothly," Petrasek said
In the South Annex of the BJC a sign students hung up depicts the Nickelodeon character Spongebob Squarepants holding up the letters "FTK."
There are a couple new pieces of equipment this year, including lighting trusses and the stage, Petrasek said. The stage is designed to resemble the Four Diamonds logo, with four individual diamond-shaped pieces. An advantage to the new model is that when morale captains perform the line dance, they can face forward on the edges and be easily seen by more people, Petrasek said
"We're really excited for [the new stage]," he said.
Committee members will be setting up throughout the day until Thon begins tonight, he said. Doors will open at 4 p.m.; the pre-Thon kickoff is scheduled to begin at 5:30.
"It's intense, but you do it because you love it," Petrasek said.
This article incorrectly states the anniversary of the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon. This is the 36th annual event.
