At Penn State, one of the biggest organization is THON. THON raised $13 million dollars last year due to dancing for 48 hours. Some people might say how is this even possible, but Penn Staters always find a way. When you hear the mission statement of THON, which is: "to provide emotional and financial support, spread awareness and ensure funding for critical research - all in pursuit of a cure", you can now understand why these volunteers are dancing for hours, even days. It is unbelievable how passionate and caring these THONERS are. Well, some...
Disclaimer: I am not in THON so I am not 100% knowledgeable on the full details and ALL events that occurs. However, I can tell you what I have recently heard from other people in SOME of these committees.
"The purpose of THON became lost. I participated in THON in my high school year, and nearly raised several hundred thousand dollars from doing the exact same thing these college students are doing, but the reasons differs. I was doing it for the kids. Not because of the socials."
For those of you that do not know what a THON social is, a THON social is supposed to be an event where you can get to know the people that you are dancing with for 48 hours. Easily, some might wonder where's the harm with talking to people that are in your committee, but the problem occurs where the socials mainly consists of underage drinking that is highly celebrated at these "socials." "SOME" of these people join THON just to drink and party while some actually do "social" and "dance" for those kids with cancer.
"My excuse is that I am young" some college students say. The idea of living life by partying before maturity and responsibilities comes in "justifies" the excessive amount of alcohol and liquor giving to these people in the socials.
I had people tell me that they get "black out drunk" after one of these socials. I had people tell me that they couldn't remember anything they did from the previous night due to all the liquor and alcohol consumption they endured. The stories I hear from people are insane.
One of my closest friends that I consider one of my brothers dropped THON 2 weeks before the main event: THON weekend. He told me he dropped it because he is tired of seeing people talk about partying, drinking, and smoking, which are things that are completely irrelevant instead of focusing on the actual cause that really matters. I am not sure about you, but I think that speaks volume. The fact that he didn't even finish THON when he knows how good it will look on his resume proves that he does not want to be included or associated with a committee that forgets what they are dancing for on a consistent basis.
Now, I am not saying that "ALL" people in THON are in it for the free drinks, but "SOME" are. I can't tell you how you should live your life, or what is best for you because that is up to you to decide. However, do not say you genuinely care about these kids that are dying of cancer and incurable diseases where your main focus is not on them.
you make a very bold statement. I have to say though I don't think that the truth behind thon is lost, maybe there are few looking for a turn up but the fact that after all the hours of partying and drinking these people are still looking to support this case is bigger than a shot of ciroc.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point that I have heard debated a lot recently. While a lot of this is true, I think that people will just look for any excuse to party and that THON socials just allow them to organize it. I still believe that most people do THON because they care. If people just cared about the partying part of it, I do not think THON would be as successful as it is. It is successful because people care and put time into fundraising, dancing, and making sure this event goes well.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting perspective to me. I'm in a committee and personally I avoid the socials because that's not why I'm involved. However I can speak to some of these generalizations being true. I think it mostly depends on who your captain is to determine if social or FTK is more important. Personally, my captain does a great job reminding us of why we are there. If you have any interest in coming to a committee meeting to see what I mean let me know and I'll see what I can do.
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