The creation of an EA Danceathon two years ago was a great addition to the Episcopal experience. The support, in both the form of donations and participation, that was generated for the causes brought the community together in a way that is unique to the dance marathon.
While we realize that unexpected weather conditions shortened the Danceathon this year and prevented it from fulfilling its full potential, the Scholium staff nonetheless believes there are some adjustments that can be made to make this event even more successful.
Our suggestion chiefly concerns the scheduling of the marathon. In its current set up, the general date and time present many conflicts for students. Sports practice often disrupts the dance from 4PM to approximately 6PM, for example. There are two potential solutions to this, the first being to schedule the event during the one week period after winter sports have ended but before practices for spring sports begin. The second, and probably most important solution would be allowing a full day of school to be dedicated to the Danceathon. Other schools in the area with dance marathon, like Cardinal O’hara High School, have extended the length to a full 12 hours.
” “I think a full day off would work if we had the dance marathon in place of the school day. That way, everyone would probably attend. I think it could also work well on a Saturday night which is what lots of other schools do.”
-Jill Rotman ’18
Though we realize that alotting a whole day for the danceathon could potentially be difficult for the administration, we feel this would encourage more participation. Jill Rotman ‘18, who helped coordinate the event this year, agrees, saying, “I think a full day off would work if we had the dance marathon in place of the school day. That way, everyone would probably attend. I think it could also work well on a Saturday night which is what lots of other schools do.”
The problems, however, do not end with the scheduling. Generally, it seems students are unmotivated to participate fully. This is wildly different from the event on which ours is based. At Penn State, students see THON as a celebration. Current Penn State freshman Carly Fizzano ‘17 says, “At first I kind of thought it was overhyped but it really is so worth it. I really ended up loving it.” This excitement extends to schools in our surrounding area. Cardinal O’Hara’s annual “Mini-Thon” is an immense success. Cali Camuti, a senior at O’Hara, says, “It is an event in which every student involved looks forward to all year and O’Hara as a school believes it is one of the best, if not the best, experiences of high school. Seeing all of our hard work and dedication pay off when we see how much money we raised at the very end of our danceathon is an amazing feeling.”
We encourage the leaders of the DancEAthon to consider these options to boost the success of the event. If more students were able to pledge to be a dancer, the event would garner more support. Not only would it be a greater success in our community, but we would also be able to raise more money for an important cause.