Author: Lindsey Palmer
Close to 100 students filled the Cooler last Friday night to raise money and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for Up ’til Dawn. Signaling the end of Greek Week, Up ’til Dawn was a great success both in contributing to a philanthropic cause and a fun social event. Students wrote letters to friends and family asking for donations and enjoyed music, games, karaoke, dancing and lots of free food until 1 a.m..
The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee accepts patients from all over the United States, often free of charge, and provides cutting-edge treatment for childhood diseases. Since its founding in 1962, St. Jude has drastically changed how hospitals treat many diseases and has been particularly important in improving child leukemia survival rates.
According to the St. Jude Web site, entertainer Danny Thomas founded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 1962, relying on donations raised by its national fundraising organization American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC) to run the hospital. Up ’til Dawn was ALSAC’s first fundraising program run by college students and is organized each year on campuses around the country.
Up ’til Dawn has been held at Oxy for the past three years, and each year it has grown in attendance and made a bigger impact, according to Executive Director of Up ’til Dawn at Occidental Hannah Alpert (junior).
She said, “Last year, Oxy raised over $9,000 for this cause, which, considering our size, is considered a lot. As we strive to make Up ’til Dawn an established event, we hope to raise more [money] . . . over time we hope to develop into what it is like at bigger schools, which is a celebration of the cause and the culmination of fundraising efforts that were made throughout the semester or year.”
The role of Greek Life in coordinating Up ’til Dawn was fundamental to its success, according to Greek Council Vice President of Community Service and SAE member Nick Weinstein (junior). “All the entertainment is run by the fraternities and sororities and are helping the event go off without a hitch . . . Greek Life is playing an integral role in the planning and execution of the event and most of the teams and team members are comprised of Greek,” Weinstein said. Other sponsors of the event included the ASOC Senate, the Office of Student Life and Programming Board.
Participating students seemed to thoroughly enjoy the activities of the evening, as many jumped at the opportunity to play Twister and dance to Michael Jackson songs. Students attended the event in small teams, most of which were representing a campus group, such as Greek Life or a community service group. Circle K team member Andrea Fukuzato (first-year) said, “It was a great event that brought together the Occidental student body. Circle K was able to join with other students . . . to serve the world in order to make a difference.”
Alpert said that over 2,000 letters were sent by students to raise funds for St. Jude’s.
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