Mustang Marathon a worthy cause

How many times have you gone into a public restroom, walked into a stall and discovered evidence of someone else’s doing? What did you do? Well, rather than confront the problem, you made a face, walked away and found another stall.

Here’s the travesty of it all- the next stall you choose also has a bit of a surprise waiting for you. And so you move onto the next one, until you arrive at the end of the aisle with a stall that is acceptable to you.

How many stalls did you go in and out of before you found a suitable one, when there was a much simpler way? You could have flushed the first one, solved the problem and gone about your business thereafter.

But that’s human nature to have our own interests in mind. We don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s problem. But therein lies the problem, and if everyone felt that way, society would be in terrible shape.

I grant you, it’s not always easy confronting the problem. Some of us may have that kind of strength, while others have the weak stomachs that are unable to bear the sight of problems. Hey, no one ever said it would be easy.

Now, where is all of this leading me?

Mustang Marathon.

This February will mark the fourth annual Mustang Marathon, an event that is near and dear to my heart, my way of “flushing.” This will be my fourth consecutive year to participate in this fundraising event, and I can’t say that I’ve been more proud to be apart of something that brings together so many people who are all working towards one goal: raising money to fight pediatric AIDS.

A little Mustang Marathon 101 for those who don’t know about it:

Mustang Marathon is a 24-hour dance marathon that raises money to help children affected by HIV/AIDS. Funds will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Another beneficiary is Dallas’ own Bryan’s House, which serves as a home away from home, where kids can forget about their medical problems and just be kids.

The event takes place at Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports and runs two days, Friday evening through Saturday. This year, the dates are set for February 25-26. You can sign up to be a dancer, and each dancer is asked to raise a certain amount of money. The objective is simple: raise $400 and make a pledge to stay on your feet for 24 hours. For 24 hours, dancers must be awake and on their feet. Don’t worry. You’re not exactly dancing the entire time. There will be entertainment, food, games and tons of fun activities that will help you stay awake for those 24 hours.

There are a number of ways you can help. Become a dancer. Registration forms are in the SAC. Become a moraler and volunteer some of your time to come by and boost the morale of those who have pledged to be on their feet for 24 hours. Support your friends who are dancers in this event. Give money to dancers who are trying to raise that $400. On the weekend of the actual marathon, come by to support the dancers. It makes a difference to see some familiar faces when you’re trying to stay awake at 3 a.m. Spread the word. No contribution you make is too little. Too little would be to do nothing.

For more information, go to www.mustangmarathon.com. There you will find any information that I’ve neglected to mention. You will also find the names and contact information of everyone on the steering committee for this event if you have any questions. They are individuals to whom I cannot give enough praise for putting in as much time as they have to see this campus-wide event to fruition.

For those of us putting on and taking part in this event, it’s a fight that lasts 24 hours and ends at the stroke of 6 on Saturday, with a huge finale in celebration of a successful triumph. However, for children affected by HIV/AIDS, it’s a fight that has no definite cutoff. They don’t know when it will end. All they know is that they must keep fighting.

How many stalls will it take before you confront the problem?

Will you flush or will you walk away?