OttoTHON is a new dance marathon that is premiering at Syracuse University at the end of this month. Students should get involved and make this inaugural year as big as it can be in order for OttoTHON to be an established future success.

OttoTHON is a dance marathon that requires participants to stay on their feet for 12 hours and to raise a minimum of $100. Participants can form teams for the event or dance as individuals. The proceeds will stay local and will benefit Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. The event will take place in the Women’s Building and begin on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. and conclude on March 1 at 6 a.m.

OttoTHON is organized by students and was first recognized by the university last semester. Right away the group began publicizing the event to accumulate interest. Now with the event just weeks away, organizers and participants should view this as crunch time. There are some quick fixes that should be immediately addressed, such as publicizing the actual date of the marathon. The date of OttoTHON is still not clear in the group’s Twitter description or the homepage of its website.

But this is not to diminish the efforts of OttoTHON organizers, who are piloting a new initiative on campus and focusing on this final push for publicity. Organizers set up free registration for Greek life on Sunday, and have plans to ask for donations at Destiny USA on Friday and Saturday. And while these efforts from organizers are valuable, the registered 806 dancers should help spread the message of OttoTHON as well.

OttoTHON’s goal is to raise $105,000 and as of Sunday night, $26,384 had been raised. Raising $105,000 is a lofty ambition for the first year of this new event, and it will take more than promotion from organizers to get it done. Even if that goal isn’t met, this first year can serve to build OttoTHON’s presence at SU and create momentum for years to come.

Many people have heard of college dance marathons that are more established at other schools, most notably THON at Penn State. These events are well known for giving back to the local community and building unity between the participants.

Bringing a dance marathon to SU is a great decision. Students should take on shared responsibility to get involved and help make OttoTHON a success.