All Night Long
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Catherine Casalino -- The Flat Hat
SA President Dan Maxey (Top) was among the students who participated in the Up 'Til Dawn All Night Philanthropic Extravaganza Nov. 10. The philanthropy, started by Delta Delta Delta, raised $13,095.85 for pediatric cancer research.
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By Monty Tayloe
Flat Hat Staff Writer
Students celebrated the contribution of $13,095.85 to the fight against pediatric cancer at the Up 'Til Dawn All Night Philanthropic Extravaganza Nov. 10. The event, which took place in the Recreation Center from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., featured a comedian, a DJ, a performance by The Medium and inflatable suits for "Sumo wrestling." The money earned will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., which specializes in the treatment of childhood diseases, primarily pediatric cancers.
"St. Jude's provides treatment to children regardless of their ability to pay, which is a wonderful thing," junior Whitney Price, Up 'Til Dawn's morale chair, said.
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Catherine Casalino -- The Flat Hat
Fake sumo wrestling was one of the activities that kept the celebrants busy during the 10-hour Up 'Til Dawn Extravaganza.
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Up 'Til Dawn was organized on campus primarily by Delta Delta Delta, but was open to campus-wide participation.
"For a first-year event, it was a magnificent experience, laying a great foundation for future events," Assistant Director of Greek Life Anne Arseneau, and Up 'Til Dawn advisor, said.
Although the all-night celebration was well attended, Price said the organizers decided to end early.
"We actually cut it short at the end; we made our point and we figured that 10 hours equals 12 hours," Price said.
Planning and fundraising for Up 'Til Dawn began last semester. Any group or organization was able to sign up as a team to earn $450 over the course of the spring semester. According to Katie Lutes, student executive director of Up 'Til Dawn, while many Greek organizations signed on, non-Greek organizations were encouraged to participate as well.
Teams that participated in the event used a variety of methods to earn funds for the charity over the course of last semester, including "Jail and Bail," a program in which teams took "Prisoners," including College President Timothy Sullivan. The prisoners had to stay until bailed out, thus earning money for the team that captured them. Other methods of fund raising included an after-hours party at Ben & Jerry's.
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Catherine Casalino -- The Flat Hat
Up 'Til Dawn participants raised over $13,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital between spring semester and the celebration Nov. 10.
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At Saturday's Extravaganza, team members were invited to attend as well as spectators, for a fee of $10 per person. The lock-in was originally planned to exclude non-team members after 12:30 a.m. However, according to Lutes, no one was forced to leave.
"What really made the event come together was the morale dance," Price said.
Planning for next year's Up 'Til Dawn will begin next semester when students return from winter break. Executive board elections for the next semester, and interviews will be held in January.
Sophomore Katie Dahill, the new executive director of Up 'Til Dawn, will choose the new board members. The board will have multiple posts to fill, including morale chair, finance chair and patient relations chair. In addition, there are many openings on the various committees of Up 'Til Dawn.
"We have a committee for almost every chair up there. There is a real good opportunity for people who want to get involved in Up 'Til Dawn to join a committee, or become a committee head" Price said.
Although this is the first time Up 'Til Dawn has been at the College, there have been similar programs at other campuses nationwide.
Delta Delta Delta, which fielded four teams last semester, has been involved with St. Jude's since 1999, when the national sorority signed up with the children's hospital. More information about St. Jude's is available at www.stjude.org.
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