Why Some Penn State Students Don’t THON
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- THON is one of the great long standing traditions at Penn State, where there is typically a huge turnout of students who love to participate every year.
Students not only have a great time at THON, but they are part of a mission for a great cause. THON’s mission is to raise money to better the lives of families and their children who are living with childhood cancer.
While THON is an exciting event for many in support of a great cause, it is not for everyone.
Some students feel that being part of THON is a huge commitment that requires a lot of time and dedication.
THON is not just a two-day event, but also requires many hours that go into raising money for the cause.
A student’s life is busy with classes, tests and other outside commitments. THON requires a lot of time and dedication, and some students feel that they can not handle THON and their other work load.
The last year has been dominated by COVID-19, and THON, like most things, has been impacted by it. For the first time ever, THON has been moved to an online, virtual experience.
With THON being virtual, it has definitely affected people’s decision to participate. Freshman James Harrington is one of the many freshmen that have decided not to participate in THON this year.
“I am not in THON this year mostly because it is virtual,” Harrington said. “With THON not being in person, there is not that much reason for me to be there.”
Harrington had heard so much about THON, and was excited to join. However, with THON being virtual, it does not have the same feeling.
“I think a lot of THON is the in person activity, meeting new people, and dancing for 46 hours,” Harrington said.
Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, it appears as if a number of freshmen have been discouraged to join THON this year. The in-person experience is very hard to replicate by shifting to an online experience.
Many people can not envision exactly how THON will work this year and participation may be less than usual. Hopefully, once the pandemic is behind us, THON will be back to the level where it always has been.
Aidan Torok is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. You can contact him at ajtorok24@gmail.com
