Dance Marathon raises $50k

Sargent Gymnasium pounded to the beat of hundreds of students dancing for charity during the 12-hour, second-annual Boston University Dance Marathon, which organizers estimate raised $50,000.

The event lasted from 8 p.m. Saturday night until 9 a.m. Sunday morning – the extra hour a result of daylight saving time changes. More than 800 students attended the event, with 200 dancers, 175 “moralers,” 30 to 40 volunteers, 14 staff and 420 guests, according to Jesse Rauch, the event’s business chairman.

The total amount the event raised may change, Rauch said, because there are still checks in the mail. But he called it the largest BU student philanthropy event ever. Last year’s event raised $32,000.

The largest individual fundraiser brought in $5,100, and the Delta Gamma sorority raised the most for a group at $8,500.

Money raised by the event was split between Camp Heartland, which runs camping trips in Minnesota and California for children affected by HIV and AIDS, and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Other schools including Boston College and Pennsylvania State University have held similar marathons, which continue for up to 48 hours.

During the event, students were treated to a variety of food and activities to keep them going, including DJs spinning a mix of musical genres from hip-hop to rock to reggae, performances from student a cappella groups and presentations on HIV transmission and prevention.

The event will enter its third year in 2005, and Mike Metz, the community service chairman for the Kappa Sigma fraternity and a dancer for this weekend’s event, said he thought the success of this year’s event will help solidify the marathon as a BU tradition.

“I was saying earlier in the year that if it didn’t raise as much money or the same amount of money as last year, it would just stay the same,” the College of Communication sophomore said. “But obviously it is getting bigger – and part of a school tradition – which our school definitely needs.”

Rauch agreed, saying he was pleased with the turnout and amount raised by the event.

“It was just amazing. If anything, I am just speechless at the success of the event,” the College of Arts and Sciences senior said. “One of the moments that just makes me feel was connected was the line dance, watching the people doing the line dance – just watching the whole gym moving together.”

Event Chairwoman Jenna Racz said she saw the event as a way to “bring together the BU community – get the student body together for one night.”

Samantha Sims, the founder of the dance Marathon in 2003, said she was inspired to start the dance marathon with her friends – who are mainly involved with the Greek system and the Student Union – after watching a video of Penn State’s event. Sims said she is hoping for an increased turnout next year.

Overall, the evening was “kind of hard to remember,” Metz said, because 12 hours of dancing wore him out.

“When we were done, we were laughing, but we didn’t even remember why we were laughing the whole night,” he said.

Elizabeth Glaser University Development Coordinator Lee Kimball, who was in attendance on Saturday, said it was a “high-energy event” and “very inspiring.”

The event was entirely student coordinated, as student staff members in gray T-shirts were available to readily solve any problems. Dancers also took brief breaks at intervals.

For students, the event was more about the cause than about themselves, especially for senior Alison Werner, who danced despite being on crutches.

Rauch said he will miss not being able to participate in the even next year – he will graduate in just over a month – but is hoping to return anyway.

Planning for the event began several months ago, according to organizers, who said they met at least once a week after they began planning. Organizers budgeted $5,000 for the evening, according to Rauch, but next year’s budget may double because of this year’s success.