Character studies: THON 2012 / Sunday
About a third of the students at University Park participate directly in the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon each year. But the mammoth charity event affects the life of almost everyone on campus. These profiles show some of those experiences as the event headed into the home stretch Sunday. View Friday and Saturday profiles here.
It's official: Another record amount
The dancers sat down at 4 p.m. Fifteen minutes later they learned the amount raised for THON in 2012 -- $10,686,924.83. These photos were made with cell phones and transmitted within seconds of the events they depict. Crowd photo by Tina Grasha. THON total picture by Shawn Inglima.
Listen in below as THON overall Elaine Tanella announces the final total of money raised in 2012.
Moments of THON
With links to all our THON 2012 photo galleries
More than 30 photojournalism students in the College of Communications, working in shifts, documented the entire 46 hours of THON 2012. From many thousands of images this slideshow serves as a preview for the five photo galleries of the best student work over three days.
- THON in photos: Friday night
- THON in photos: Saturday Part 1
- THON in photos: Saturday Part 2
- THON in photos: Sunday Part 1
- THON in photos: The Final Hours
Line dance from an insider's point of view
Photojournalist Andy Colwell, who graduated from Penn State in December, enjoys using a miniature portable video camera called a GoPro to see the world from a different point of view. Last fall he used a GoPro to produce a video of kayakers paddling over the 18-foot Ohiopyle Falls. This afternoon he strapped the GoPro to 6-foot-5 Morale Captain Cory Ingram during the last line dance of THON 2012. See the results below:
-- video for ComMedia by Andy Colwell
Post-THON update
After returning to Lambda Chi Alpha, Andre Freeman recaps his THON experience.
-- video by Andre Freeman
Not all the jobs are glamorous at THON
Katherine Russum, senior at Penn State experiences a side of THON many people do not get to see -- and probably aren't looking for.
-- by Bianca Hooper
Playing with the kids
Dylan Reap doesn't mind a squirt in the face when it comes from one of the children of THON. During the weekend, the kids play what seems to be their favorite game — squirting college students with water guns while knowing it will make them mad.
-- by Jennifer Picht
Bringing THON to life
ComRadio has been covering THON for the past five years and it continued the tradition for a sixth time this year. Senior station director Thomas Frank Carr is broadcasting the last four hours of coverage, and he talks about his preparation and past experience.
-- by David Doggett
Student EMT helps keep dancers running
Charles Richard is an Electrical Engineering. He is a volunteer EMT who helped provide medical attention during THON weekend.
-- by Tunde Oduwaiye
Monitoring the press for THON
It's the job of Public Relations (PR) captains like Vickie Maseda to deal with local, state and national media requests for THON coverage. This entails finding out beforehand which media outlets are attending, compiling a database of all media personnel who need floor access, checking them in and out and setting up interviews among other things.
PR committee members, like Alexis Deacon, escort student media members, including reporters, photographers and videographers, on the floor during THON. It's their job to secure proper captain approvals for dancer and family interviews and to ensure that press rules and procedures are followed. Sometimes, committee members are on the floor for the maximum amount of time allowed to student press -- two full hours.
-- by Matthew D'Ippolito
Broadcasting THON to the world
Jess Korpacz is a member of the team responsible for producing the live THON webcast. Although she isn't standing for 46 hours, Korpacz, and the webcast team, give everyone a different look at THON. They may get looked over, but this group is in charge of broadcasting THON to every corner of the world.
-- by Matt Andersen
A memorable speech by Jay Paterno
Stepping out of the shadow of his famous father, Jay Paterno addressed THON on behalf of the Paterno family. The complete audio file is embedded below.
What does THON mean?
Everyone knows THON is a student-run organization that raises money to support children with pediatric cancer. But what does THON really mean to people?
-- by Chris Gammon
Reporting from the dance floor: Haley Blum / Sunday morning
Haley Blum says she's starting to feel the physical affects of being on her feet for two nights. She is one of two students who is sharing her experience of being a dancer at THON in a series of video reports. She is dancing for the Penn State Figure Skating Club.
-- video by Haley Blum
More THON characters
- Character studies: THON 2012 / Friday and Saturday
-
College of Communications coverage of THON 2012: Index