Utah natives know spring weather is a gamble. It can be sunny one day and snowy the next — and it never ceases to surprise. Yesterday, ASUU fought the weather to hold the pre-party before the Rock the U Dance-a-thon for about an hour before deciding to cancel the event.
The snow seemed calm enough in the early morning, but by about 11:15 a.m. the ASUU team had been facing a solid wall of snow and wind on and off for about an hour, and they decided to head inside. They packed up boxes of pizza and hundreds of purple-dyed Rice Krispie Treats and returned to the ASUU office in the Union.
“Yesterday was perfect, and then today was like this huge snowstorm. It’s crazy,” said Chloe Cole, member of the Campus Events Board and a junior in strategic communication.
The pre-party was the last of a series of events that Rock the U organizers lined up to get students excited for the annual charity dance party. The kickoff week began on Monday, when students made donations in return for haircuts with Cuts for Cancer. On Tuesday, ASUU hosted an event with live bands. On Thursday, students planning to attend the dance marathon signed a banner with the name of the cancer victim for whom they are dancing.
Despite having to cancel today’s event, organizers said they are not worried about turnout.
Sarah Vaughn, director of Rock the U and a junior in broadcast journalism, said ASUU set a goal to have 500 students at the dance party and that it is already close to that number in pre-registration. ASUU is hoping that more students will register at the door.
“We’re just excited to get everyone at Rock the U and have our event,” Vaughn said. “[We] hope everyone comes out for it.”
Rock the U is one of the biggest fund-raising events of the year at the U. Students pay to register and can also encourage friends and family to donate money as well. Proceeds go to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
This year, the event will be eight hours longer than it was last year.
“It’s a 12-hour dance marathon … last year it was four hours,” Vaughn said. “We’re excited about Rock the U this year. It seems like everyone is excited about it.”
This year’s event will include several ASUU party trademarks, such as the T-shirt press, but mostly, it’s an opportunity to dance the night away.
It has been a busy week for the board, as they have been working to build excitement for the event.
“I feel that even the more you prepare, there’s always something that comes up,” Cole said. “You can be as prepared as you want.”
She said the board has worked hard to be prepared to throw the big party tonight. She said it will be nice to just let loose and have fun after the week of preparation.
Rock the U will be held today from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. on Saturday in the Union Ballroom.