$ongFe$t: Dance for a Dollah

This weekend, many parents, students, and sorority girls who do not want to get fined, will take their seats in Rudder Auditorium to cheer on their loved ones as they participate in this year’s installment of Dance for Money, Chi Omega’s most popular philanthropy event.

The event itself — for those who don’t eat, sleep, and breathe sorority — is an epic dance competition between pairs of men and women’s organizations. Each pair chooses a theme and is judged based on their creativity, originality, and execution, amongst other requirements. These “other requirements” however, have many participants and spectators up in arms. This year’s pairs are required to go beyond their normal dance routines, earning points for t-shirt sales, social media likes, under the table donations to Chi O, and even fake proposals.

Many participating members have expressed strong feelings both for and against the event and its requirements. A member of One Army, who wishes to remain anonymous, confided in The Mugdown, saying, “I seriously hate dancing, but I have been checking my twitter constantly to see which engagement ring my girlfriend poses with. Well we aren’t actually dating yet, but once I know which ring to get, I think I will be ready to ask her on a date. Thank goodness for Dance for Money!”

Some organizations are less cheerful about the massive event and the time commitment that comes with it. Changes are already in the works for coming semesters, and it has been agreed throughout the panhellenic world, as well as with many non-greek organizations, that it is a better use of both time and money if organizations simply donated large sums of money to Chi O upfront, and members worked it off by getting real jobs that allow them to not only participate in the real world economy, but gain valuable skills for the post-graduate life.

It has been proposed that members could possibly gain marketable experience by earning money through working at a job, then donating their earnings directly to charity, as opposed to being forced to stand outside for hours, unpaid, asking for other people’s money. In fact, simple math easily proves that if the time spent by the organizations’ combined hours spent banner holding, dance practicing, t-shirt selling, and social media posting was spent at a minimum wage job, Dance for Money would be able to raise over five times as much money for charity.  

Delta Gamma has begun the first push for a new Dance for Money strategy and, in exchange for an allotment of tickets and t-shirts, will begin writing a sizable check to the host sorority at the start of each semester. The motion is currently pending Chi O approval.

Kappa Delta member Linley Coleman explained her support for Delta Gamma’s decision to The Mugdown saying, “It just makes sense, you know? Everyone’s money goes to them anyways, might as well get it out of the way as soon as we can. It would be a shame if the best performance lost because they didn’t sell enough t-shirts.”

Multiple Chi O delegates were contacted for comments, all of whom have declined.

 

-E. King Trill