The Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports is usually a place where students and others go to tone and shape their bodies, climb the rock wall or play basketball, but on Friday night students went there with another goal in mind: raising money.
But, by the end of the event, few of the students remained.
Jessica Ortiz, a senior majoring in cinema television, said this was her third year participating in the event. When Ortiz was interviewed at 1 p.m. on Saturday, she said she was very tired, adding that energy and morale were low because of the dwindling number of participants. According to Ortiz, some students started leaving around 11 p.m.
Sophomore Nathan Stockham agreed with Ortiz.
“We have right at nine dancers right now, and last year we had about a hundred at this time,” he said. He felt there were a few people that thought that this event was not a worthwhile endeavor and decided to pursue their own pleasures.
The lack of enthusiasm this year did not break Stockham’s spirit, though. This is his second year participating in the event, and he plans on dancing all four years. He thinks next year is going to be “amazing.”
At 6 p.m. on Friday evening, the lobby area of the Dedman center was full of students with duffle bags over their shoulders, numbers on their backs and light blue T-shirts with “BELIEVE” written on the front.
They began crowding into the gym, where purple, green and gold streamers were hanging, beads were being thrown down from the top banister and loud music was playing.
They decided to go for a Mardi Gras theme this year, according to Thomas Greene, one of the event’s co-directors.
The program was opened by Olivia Yiu, the Moral Chair. After introducing all of the coordinators of the event, Jake Glaser spoke.
Glaser’s mother was one of the founders of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which is one of the programs the Mustang Marathon benefits. The marathon also donates to the Bryan’s House, a Dallas facility that gives medical attention as well as counseling to families affected by AIDS.
This is the main reason that Stockham participated in this event. Stockham, a sophomore, said he loves volunteering and working with kids.
“I’ve known a couple of kids that have been diagnosed, so it has somewhat of a deeper meaning for me,” Stockham said.
He said he met those children while he was working for a daycare in Houston. The children were diagnosed with HIV before they were two years old, and they are about four or five years old now.
“I keep in touch with them as much as I can,” Stockham said.
Ortiz said her main motivation for doing the event was the fact that this event was a test of will.
“The main reason I do it is because you have to completely check out of your life and re-prioritize everything,” she said. She compared her night at the Dedman center to a hospital stay of someone with AIDS, saying, “you see who actually comes to visit.”
Ashley Earnest, a senior at SMU, said that this is her fourth year to participate in the event. Her freshman year she was a dancer and her sophomore year she was a moraler, which are volunteers for the event. Last year she was the fundraising chair, and this year she was co-director with Greene.
She said students were required to raise a minimum of $250 to participate and they were not allowed to sit, sleep or use their cell phones.