Tired of NYU’s lack of campus community? Homecoming might be the spirited solution. Founded in 2006 by Lyle Matthew Kan, Homecoming transformed from a one night carnival to a full week of events from a Poker Tournament to an Alumni-Student Sunday Brunch.

In the past, Homecoming has faced some criticism. For one, the event used to exist solely as part of Fraternity and Sorority Life. According to the committee’s Office of Student Activities Advisor, Myoung Marquez, this year is the first year that they have applied to become an OSA Theme Week. In addition, Many students frequently argue that NYU isn’t suited for a homecoming celebration. “I get asked how we can have a homecoming with a football team a lot,” says Cara Jean Gourley, one of the week’s Co-Chairs. “It’s not about asking Alumni for more money. It’s not about having a sports team. It’s about having events where students can come out and meet other students.”

In the interest of making those meetings as interesting as possible, this year’s Homecoming committee has opened the doors to an event that dominates hundreds of college campuses. No, they didn’t get funding for a football team. But they did add NYU’s first Dance-A-Thon.

Dance-A-Thon, or Dance Marathon, is a no-sitting, no-sleeping dance party lasting for anywhere between eight and forty-eight hours to raise money for philanthropy. The first-ever Dance Marathon, affectionately known as “THON,” was held at Penn State University in 1973. Now the largest student run philanthropy in the world, THON 2008 raised over $6.5 million dollars for children’s cancer research, and according the Children’s Miracle Network, over 100 universities hold Dance Marathons every year

Bringing an event this large to NYU posed a challenge for the planning committee. NYU’s event is only four hours and had no contingency money to fund the event. Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority offered to cover the Homecoming expenses. As a result, all the funds raised from NYU’s Dance-A-Thon will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “ We thought it would be appropriate to honor them by selecting one of their philanthropies to benefit from the Dance-A-Thon, says Sarah Pratter, Special Events Chair.

There are high hopes that this event will take off at NYU. “This Dance-A-Thon will hopefully be precursor to a longer Dance-A-Thon at NYU,” says Pratter. “I worked on the Dance Marathon at Indiana University, a 36-hour event that raises over a million dollars a year for a children’s hospital.”

In a city with hundreds of dance clubs, Dance-A-Thon is poised to be the fall semester equivalent of Relay For Life and Homecoming will finally instill the sense of school spirit NYU desperately needs.

For more information on this weekend’s events, click here.