Penn State University - La Vie Yearbook (University Park, PA)

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Dance Marathon Math uThe kids need you. This simple phrase was the inspirational theme of the 1987 lntrafratemity Council Dance Marathon. In White Buildings main gym, this Penn State tradition of 15 years was once again a success. The ground rules were simple. You must stay on your feet and keep moving for 48 hours-in other words, dance. Yes, they did have bathroom breaks, but they were few and far between and as the days went on the breaks were fewer and farther. One thought kept the dancers going: the kids need you. Of the 544 people who began the grueling marathon, 472 finished Considering all of the problems that devel- oped after 48 hours on one's feet, that was a surprisingly large number. Sore feet and fallen arches are the most common complaints, although Certainly not the only ones. Some dancers hallucinated, saw mirrors coming up from the floor, and some even fell asleep standing up. All of this was endured to help raise money for the Hershey Medical Center Four Diamonds Fund. The fund was established in 1972 by the parents of Christopher Forty Eight Hours And 272 Couples Equals $250,000 eby Becky llogancamp Millard in his memory. The name Four Diamonds was derived from an essay Christopheer wrote depicting Sir Millatd's battle to escape an evil sorcerer. He had to fight the four diamonds-courage, wisdom, honesty, and strengthe-and succeeded. Christopher did not. year's total pushed the contributions to the Four Dia- monds Fund over the $1 million mark. Previously contrib- uting to several area Charities, the Marathon chose this fund in 1977. Penn $tate can proudly say that this is the argest student-run fund-raising event in the country. A myriad of. committees were formed physical plant to refreshments. And of Course there was morale. Morale was especially needed Sunday morning when the dancers were totally exhaustedjim Russell lju.. Comp Scil, said, Between SAm and 7AMt you were convinced that you should be asleep. Once this low point was past. the huge crowd ofspectators helped to Cheer the dancers through the final stretch. The 1987 Marathon raised $297,311-a new record. This However. this marathon was not run by dancers alone. everything from Sitting down on the iob-Danc- ers led in group exercises by the Morale Crew, allowed everyone to get to know each other better. --by Andrew Bcvcc Comic relief-Reading was one way for dancers to occupy their time and keep their minds from turning to thoughts of sleep. Cat naps-Weary dancers took full advantage of their allowed five minute rest periods. -by Rob Fischer Layout-john Walker Dance Marathon 29

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That feels goodF-Thc pain and discomfort the dancers had to cn- durc was cascd by the mam hclpern who provided foot massages and bac 'rubs. 28 Dance Marathon Dancing, together You can't dance without your partner. as Chris Ncwsomc and his smiling but tired, partner Sue Ann Altc. house will tell you. iiiaw 002 5. Stick 'cm up! Youngsters are an important part Of the Marathon All of the money raised goes to charity to benefit handicapped chil- dren. -by Rob Fixthl:I

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Phi Psi 500 Not Rain Nor Sleet Could Keep Runners From Their Rounds Survives eby Kathy Kaminskas On any given day in April, thousands of screaming fans cheered as fig newtons, Domino's Pizzas, bananas, and the Wheel of Fortune ijust to name a few costumesl ran through the streets of State College. The runners' goal? To hit each of the six bars en route, chug a beer tor two or threel, and make it across a finish line - sober or not. Does this scene sound like complete mayhem? Could it have been that these people were celebrating Halloween in April? The answer to both of these questions is l'no . All of the participants helped to raise money for a philan- thropy run by Phi Kappa Psi fraternity the Phi Psi 500. This past year marked the 19th annual Phi Psi race. Even though weather was not pleasant and policies were set to try to reduce drinking, about 2,000 specrators and 1200 runners participated. In past years, an estimated 15,000 people were part of one of the races tcompared to the first race when there were only 24 runnersl. The $22,000 raised went to Centre Communiry Hospital Ad- vanced Life support paramedic program. For the first three years at Penn State, we were only able to watch the race isince we weren't 2U, commented Reid Loper, a 1986 graduate. I ran because we saw how much fun runners all had, and by our last year, we just had to do it. Where else can you get drunk and stumble around the streets, while 50,000 people cheered you on? said Ed Howell, a 1986 graduate. Unlike the years when Loper and Howell were able to drink a lot during the race, recent policies were set which phased out alcohol use by runners. A four-year plan started last year; some restrictions in- cluded bars that served low alcohol level beer 8.296 as compared to 3.896 in previous yearsl, a reduced number of bars that serve beer, beginning at the 20th annual Phi Psi, and finally a completely non-alcoholic race by 1990. We don't want tthe racel to go completely dry, said Bob Traub, a Phi Psi brother. Phi Psi will try to avoid this as much as possible. However, if we try to go back to alcohol. it may end the race all together. There were different categories which included Inde- pendent Teams Division, Fraternity Team Division, Women's Division, Non-alcoholic Division, and Any- thing Goes - where participants dressed in costumes. The Phi Psi is a tradition, said Phil Geyer. Itls something you have to do to be a part of Penn State. E a eweouzl's Some say that after you have run the Phi Psi 500 you look at drinking, exercise, and life in a whole new light. 30 Phi Psi 500