On the night of October 15, the usually quiet Wiegand Gym in the University Center was filled with the sounds of hip-hop, techno, and 80s music, as Carnegie Mellon's Dance Marathon began. Now in its third year, Dance Marathon is a 12-hour fundraiser for the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Pittsburgh. Proceeds go to the hospital's research and treatment program for children suffering from life-threatening diseases, such as cancer.

This year, Dance Marathon has raised $5,600 thus far and expects to raise even more through its letter-writing campaign, for which participants write letters to friends and family asking for donations. The PiKA/Kappa team raised the most money through its fundraising efforts, but the Dance Commanders were a close second.

Meghan Laskowski, an SCS senior and the director of Dance Marathon, said, "Our goal is to raise $10,000 and if we do, I am going to dye my hair blue."  

Last year, Dance Marathon surpassed Greek Sing to become the largest student-run fundraising event on campus, raising over $12,000 for St. Jude's Hospital. Dance Marathon obtains most of its funding from sponsors (both national and local businesses), registration fees from the teams, and each team's individual fundraising efforts.   

Laskowski credits Dance Marathon's success to Carnegie Mellon's willingness to support charitable events: "The CMU community has recognized that this is a fun way to help a good cause."

Dancers formed teams of five to eight people, registered, and agreed to raise money and to stay on their feet during the event. One incentive for fundraising was that the team that raised the most money will get to have dinner with President Jared Cohon at his house. The Marathon was divided into one-hour slots organized around a certain theme, such as Techno, 80s, and International. There were two different types of dancers, 12-hour dancers, who dance for the entire duration of the Marathon, and regular dancers, who can take breaks and stay as long or as briefly as they wish.

For the Dance Marathon this year, the gym was outfitted with arches of blue balloons, a monitor that showed live broadcasting of the event, a D.J. station, and even a Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) game. Tables were laid out with pizza, drinks, and other snacks for the dancers. There were also games, such as lemonade pong, and several prizes were raffled off during the night.

To keep the dancers energized, the Dance Marathon committee assembled a morale team.

"We're here to motivate the dancers and hand out props [for each musical theme]," explained Alexa Huth, an HSS first-year and member of the morale team.

The dancers were enthusiastic to raise money for charitable ends. Derrick Chan, a CIT senior and member of the Dancers' Symposium team, said, "I am just here for the cause."

A few participants, though, were dissatisfied with the music featured in the Dance Marathon.

"I think it'd be a lot better if there was more hip-hop," said Yong-Li Qian, an MCS junior and member of the Tri-Delta team.

Ripta Pasay, an HSS junior and member of the Sigma Tau Gamma team, agreed. "The music is okay," said Pasay, "but there is not enough danceable music."

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