Penn State's Thon Dance Marathon and the Positive Influence on Local High Schools

Pennsylvania State University is becoming more and more well-known for its proud students and their charitable 46 hour dance party known as “Thon.” Thon has been known to raise millions of dollars for The Four Diamonds Fund, a charity that supports children’s hospitals in the hopes of curing cancer and helping families through difficult stages. Now, local high schools in the Berks County area are getting involved and creating their own “mini-thon” to raise money for the same important cause. Many of the high schools involved have raised thousands of dollars. This year, Penn State students raised $13,343,517.33 which broke their previous record.

The three articles I used for this blog are from Penn State University’s The Daily Collegian, The New York Times, and The Reading Eagle. Each article explains what Thon is and how it helps people locally and spreads hope nationally.

According to the article “THON 2014 raises $13,343,517.33 for the kids, breaks 2013 total” by Gabriella Santoliquito of The Daily Collegian (a newspaper that is published by Penn State University students), this was the 42^nd Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon which over the years has raised over $101 million for children’s cancer at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Thon has become a way to show people how much people came do when they come together. It has become a way for students to raise money in a fun, upbeat college environment. It is part of what makes student “Penn State Proud.”

The New York Times wrote a similar article explaining what Penn State’s Thon felt like from a writer’s point of view. In the article, “Taking a Stand for 46 Hours” by Fred R. Conrad, he explains the emotions, hard work, and commitment students had during their 46 hour dance marathon. He explained that dancers participating in Thon had to stay awake for whole 46 hours, although they did not need to be dancing the entire time. Each dancer had to have a “morale” to be responsible for keeping the dancer at a healthy energy level and occasionally giving them “piggyback rides.” Among the dancers, there were thousands of other students, families, and children there to enjoy the party. Local bands headline the event and student organizations take turns cheering for their team members. Students say that it is an incredible experience that almost always brings them to tears. Families who have been affected by childhood cancer stand up on the stage to speak to the crowd of thousands, telling their own emotional stories and giving their appreciative thanks. It brings everyone together in the crowd and gives a spine chilling emotional break that makes everyone proud of what they have done. According to the article, it is considered a privilege to be a dancer at Thon. Conrad ends the article by saying, “The fact is, Thon probably has more to do with Penn State students than football does. They are not looking to make someone an all-star; they are doing charitable work. And it wasn’t just one student, it was thousands doing that." I personally agree and applaud the charitable work of these thousands of students.

On a more local note, high schools are getting involved with their own “mini-Thons” to help raise money by doing overnight dance marathons at the school. They basically do the same thing as the real Thon, only on a much, much smaller scale. According to the Reading Eagle’s article, “Mini-Thon at Wilson could raise $20,000” Wilson High School held its first ever mini-Thon with the goal of raising at least $10,000. Their mini-Thon, like Penn State’s Thon was held to raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Medical Center to help children with cancer. The high school had around 200 hundred students registered to spend the night dancing and playing games for 12 straight hours in the school’s gymnasium. Wilson High School ended up surpassing its goal of $10,000 and raised a total of $23,528 for the Four Diamonds Fund. According to the article, they are planning on doing another mini-Thon next school year with the hopes of raising even more.

I chose the topic of Thon because it was a recent event that really draws communities together. Many of the high schools in the local area have been getting involved. I personally was able to stop by Wyomissing High School’s mini-Thon to check out the activities. It’s a great way to bring people together and raise money for an important cause. 

Hard work appreciation vs. comparative facts

On the front cover of Saturday's (February 15, 2014) Reading Eagle, there's an article entitled "Living in a Snow Globe" by Keith Mayer. The article discusses the overwhelming snow fall we've experienced in the past few weeks and compares it to previous winters. Although this article is very informative, interesting, and comparative; it's missing one important thing: the people who remove all the snow. Located on page B3 of the newspaper, is an article entitled "19 crews clearing city streets, bridges" by an unspecified author. This article goes into detail about all the hardworking crews who working around the clock to clear snow from the streets of Reading and make the city easier to travel. However, one point in the article explains how people are shoveling snow from their sidewalks into the street and causing more work. I thought this article was more important than the front page article because it's about the hard work that's going into the city to remove the snow instead of just talking about how much snow we've gotten and comparing it to past winters. Snow removal workers have been given a lot of work this season, so I think it's important to recognize them for all they do for the roads. After all, it's because of them that we can drive around safely this winter.

City of Ice

In Friday's (February 7, 2014) issue of The Reading Eagle, there was one article in particular that stood out to me: ice and snow removal. The article entitled "Laws on ice, snow removal taken with a grain of salt" by Steven Henshaw can be found in the Berks & Beyond section on page B5. Henshaw's article discusses how the city of Reading's slick sidewalks are affecting its residents and what's being done to clean up.

With the recent winter storms hitting one after another, it seems as though we barely have time to clean up the first mess before the next one arrives. With Thursday's ice storm, all of the snow that came down became covered in sheets of ice, making it difficult to clear away. Slippery sidewalks are becoming a lawsuit waiting to happen, so code enforcers are traveling around the city and giving notices/warnings to those who need to clean their parts of the sidewalk. One enforcer is quoted saying that, "We've had a hard time this year. People don't seem to want to shovel for some reason." Now seriously, who actually WANTS to shovel? The problem in Reading is that many homes are rented and the landlord is said to be responsible for clearing the snow in the many cases reported. However, the city is said to have been very permissive about the issue. Henshaw interviews a few residents who were out walking and they complained of the time it's taking them to get from one place to another due to the necessary walking precautions. One man was interviewed as he was shoveling the ice away with a flat head digging shovel. Apparently, the trick is to first apply salt and then pick away at it.

Although I'm from a more suburban area 15 minutes away, I am no stranger to the city of Reading. I've worked downtown for many years and this has by far been the worst year for weather. Luckily, the Downtown Improvement District employs people to remove snow in the more central areas. However, many of the residential areas remain a slippery mess. It's something I always wondered about- how does snow removal work in a city? Apparently not very well (according to this article). I used to hear stories in the news about people getting shot at after taking someone else's shoveled out parking space. People are crazy as it is, and the snow just brings out the extra crazy.

People need to just keep in mind that we're all in the same situation when it comes to the weather. We all have to deal with it some way, and shoveling a small part of the sidewalk (if you're able to) is just a common courtesy. Below freezing temperatures and ice storms, however; are just pure evil pouring over the city and making life more difficult... and annoying.

Thoughts on "Shifts and Changes"

In the world of today, there's one thing that controls nearly all of us: media. Social media especially- if you don't engage in social media, you are nearly a ghost to everyone else who does. Or as some people say, "I don't know what happened to her. She deleted her facebook and fell off the face of the Earth." Now, that's a rough thing to say, but social media is how people keep in touch. Everyone has become so engrossed in their own lives that people keep in touch with and make new friends via sharing images and posting statuses about their daily thoughts. Everything we do has become media and we have essentially become zombies engrossed in consuming the everyday information of our so-called friends online. Take a look back a year or two ago when a woman walked right into a fountain at a local mall in Reading, Pa while studying her cell phone- she basically zombie face-planted herself into YouTube history once the surveillance film was released.

All in all, the idea is that it's nice to take a break and breathe in the scenery around you once in awhile. With all the technology constantly changing and becoming a NECESSITY for everyday life, we need to keep in mind how to be humans.

Intro

My name is Jessica Frederick and this blog is intended for a mass communication class during the spring semester of 2014 at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. I am currently at the end of my senior year and I will be graduating with a B.A. in English Professional Writing.