NOVAdance, Villanova’s year-long fundraising and awareness effort is set to host its largest event of the year on Saturday: a 12-hour dance marathon. The effort works to empower the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation to support families and children battling childhood cancer. Students involved with NOVAdance have been swarmed with preparations leading up to Saturday’s event. Classes are still scheduled for the Friday beforehand, yet many students involved with NOVAdance disapprove.
Why is this? To answer that, The Villanovan spoke with two students involved in NOVAdance, to get a better sense of the logistics behind what goes into preparing for the event and why classes should be cancelled the day before.
Andrew Wierzchon, one of the leaders of NOVAdance’s Sidekicks’ team, had much to say on the topic.
“I do believe that the classes on the Friday before NOVAdance should be cancelled,” Wierzchon said. “As NOVAdance is one of the largest fundraising events here on campus, and last year alone we raised over $600,000, I think that having classes cancelled would help spread even more awareness for the cause of fighting pediatric cancer. By making more of the student population aware that this event would be occurring the following day, I think we would be able to gain more participation in the ensuing 12-hour dance marathon. We could also gain more students who could fundraise money, helping us to reach new heights we hadn’t considered possible.”
Bringing up awareness surrounding the event that could come with the cancellation of classes is an insightful take. Of course, cancelling classes this Friday would help all involved with NOVAdance have more time to prepare for Saturday, but it would also draw the attention of the larger student body as a whole. If classes were cancelled Friday, all students and faculty would be notified and given the reason as to why this was the case. This would result in all students and faculty being notified about NOVAdance and the dance marathon Saturday which could increase attendance and awareness.
Grant Lemay, the HR director of NOVAdance, had another perspective on the issue.
“In a perfect world, I’d love for classes to be cancelled on the Friday before NOVAdance, but I understand that the University operates on a pretty rigid schedule,” Lemay said. “Thanks to our awesome student volunteers, we manage to get Jake Nevin set up throughout the day on Friday even with classes getting in the way. In some ways, the rush of setting everything up together helps build anticipation and energy for the day of, which is always a good thing.”
It is great to see how NOVAdance creates community amongst its student volunteers amidst any troubles that may arise. Having student volunteers work together to get the Jake Nevin Fieldhouse set up on Friday without the cancellation of classing is just one example of how much goes into large efforts such as NOVAdance.
As NOVAdance approaches its largest event of the year, the conversation around whether classes should be cancelled the day before highlights the dedication and passion of students involved. While some argue that the cancellation could raise awareness and boost participation, others, like Lemay, recognize the importance of the tight-knit community that forms in the rush of preparations. Ultimately, the success of NOVAdance is a testament to the collective effort of Villanova’s students, showing that no matter what, the fight against childhood cancer continues to bring the community together, one step at a time.
