Representative Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district addressed the House last Thursday to recognize and congratulate THON for another year of success. Thompson, a Penn State grad and Bellefonte native, had asked and received permission to address the House.
My fellow editor, Kevin Horne, did no wrong in publishing his post. He initiated public criticism of THON, something most irrationally fear, and is necessary to the vitality of the program. His concerns are valid, and only seek to craft a more dynamic philanthropy. However, I have my disputes with the arguments that he crafted.
Last year, I wrote a post-THON piece detailing the conflicts between members of the THON audience and the Rules & Regulations Committee. Unfortunately, I along with many other R&R members ran into similar situations this past weekend. In order to overcome these miscommunications, as well as those between the other THON Committees, both sides must do their part.
I'll admit -- and anyone who knows me can attest to this -- I haven't always been a huge fan of THON.
There isn't a powerful enough adjective to describe the fact that Penn State students raise millions of dollars for the Four Diamond Fund every year. Raising $10 million for childhood cancer research and support is something that is so unbelievably special and something that requires an extraordinary amount of time, effort, and love. That being said, and I know it's not the conventional wisdom, we can do better. THON has many problems that aren't being fixed, because frankly, people are scared to talk negatively about THON. Someone once told me, "I hate THON the organization, but I love THON the cause." Before everyone grabs their pitchforks and torches, let me just explain myself.
Doing Google searches for "Sandusky Scandal" or "Penn State Riot" will turn up reports from hundreds of national media sources. Googling "THON 2012" will give you results from a few local media who covered the weekend. Why the huge difference?
With THON 2012 now two days behind us, we can once again say that THON 2013 is tomorrow. But before diving head-first into next year's preparations, we'd like to present you with a slideshow with some of Onward State's finest pictures from this weekend.