As thousands of students crowded together to support the more than 700 dancers participating in the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon , some members of the student body chose to stay out of the Bryce Jordan Center this weekend.
In many cases, students decided not to attend simply because they weren’t involved in a THON organization, frequently as a result of a busy schedule.
Alex Ferrari (junior-psychology) said that while she wanted to be involved with THON, she had too much work.
Others said they couldn’t go because of upcoming tests, including Ashley Eustache
“I really wanted to go, but I had a test this week so I didn’t have time,” Ashley Eustache (junior-biochemistry) said.
Furthermore, students had long-term commitments during the fall semester that prevented them from getting involved with THON.
“I was on study abroad last semester, so I wasn’t able to join a THON group,” Shwetha Bathla (junior-biotechnology) said. She added that her friends are involved and that, in the future, she would like to get involved as well.
Off-campus spots such as Starbucks, 232 W. College Ave., were filled with students taking a break from the busy week.
“I’m not involved, but I think it’s a really great cause,” Meghan Bisbey (graduate) said.
Long lines and cold weather kept a significant number of students out of the event. Some tried to go, but once the BJC reached capacity, those still in line were left standing for hours at a time in freezing temperatures.
“They weren’t letting people in,” Julianne Tarullo (sophmore-public relations) said. Tarullo said that despite being involved with THON throughout the year, she was unable to get into the BJC on Saturday night for the pep rally.
Student Yasin Altinisik (graduate-statistics) said he was amazed by the enormity of the event, though he would like to be more informed about it.
“I don’t have a lot of information about it,” Altinisik said. “I receive a lot of emails about it but I don’t know which ones to choose from.”
He said that he now receives so many emails advertising different THON groups that he tends to ignore them.
Another student, Carlos Garrido (graduate- social psychology) also said he was amazed by the size of THON, but said as only a second-semester student, he hasn’t had a chance to be involved in it yet.
“It’s just such a big, gigantic event,” Garrido said. “Through social media, everyone can get plugged in.”
