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Dancers, moralers and committee members dance as the final minutes of the 26 hours wind down duri

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Committee member Jess Tsuei (right) takes care of her duties while also taking time to enjoy Danc

They tell me it’s 26 hours of dancing instead of 24 because it’s a marathon – 26 miles.

Either way, more than a full day of dancing is kind of insane. I never really understood the logic that connected pediatric AIDS to dancing until you want to die.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Dance Marathon supports a great cause and am actually registered as a dancer, but I am still confused about the whole thing.

UCLA students who sign up to be dancers have to raise a minimum of $225 in order to participate.

If they can’t, they are “moralers” who only shake it for six to seven hours (“only” being a relative term here).

The fundraising aspect works really well – what we raise primarily goes to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and then Camp Kindle and Camp Heartland, which counsel children with HIV.

But apart from money, we have so much more to offer. We’re talking about 700 UCLA students’ 26 hours of time. This is such a powerful resource that dancing it all away makes me kind of uncomfortable. I thought other students would feel the same way, but apparently not.

“I feel that connecting dancing with charity is a really good idea. People don’t have the time and it’s a good way to get them involved,” said Sonia Hingrajia, a second-year psychology student who is a returning dancer.

I definitely agree with the fact that pushing it as a dance is a great gimmick and reels people in quickly, but shouldn’t there be more to it?

Those 18,200 hours of enthusiastic support could be utilized in a much more meaningful way.

Even if we danced for 10 hours, it would still be a challenging task that would make anyone feel accomplished at its end.

Then later, we could actually personally help the kids. This could mean making toys or teddy bears for the kids who arrive near the end of the marathon, or actually going to their camps and volunteering there.

“There is a silent auction going on the whole time where students can buy items and have the proceeds go to our charities,” Dance Marathon Fundraising Chair Andrew McLaughlin said.

OK, I know, money is a great resource, and charities definitely need as much of it as they can get, but what is gained by dancing for 26 hours?

For five years now, hundreds of UCLA students have driven themselves to exhaustion, showing that they can push physical limits beyond even their imaginations, but all that is being concentrated in a dance hall under disco lights.

If you think of the dancers as an expensive resource with wild potential and high skill levels, doesn’t windin’/grindin’ for all 26 hours seem bizarre?

“If you advertised it as ‘Come Volunteer for 26 Hours’ no one would show up,” McLaughlin said. “Dance Marathon is about the money, but so much awareness is also spread among the students. Education is spread.”

I asked another student returning to this event what she knew about the cause and the charities.

“Not much,” admitted Marissa Lashbrook, a second-year psychology student, with a small smile. “But there are a lot of great speakers who share their personal experiences at Dance Marathon so it helps you embrace the cause.”

For me, it is a wee bit strange that, after we donate money to stop children from dying and hear stories that leave “not a dry eye in the whole room,” according to McLaughlin, we turn around and concentrate on bringing sexy back.

Most everyone I have talked to has said Dance Marathon is an amazing experience, something so very “UCLA” and youthful in its spirit that it is impossible not to join in the fun.

I agree with all of that, but it also needs to be taken a step further, to direct interaction with and service to children with HIV.

“We are planning to incorporate the camps more into the Dance Marathon in the future,” McLaughlin assured me during our talk.

I just wish this was not simply a possibility, but more of a central goal.

I am planning to wheedle much of my family and many of my friends for donations toward this cause in the upcoming two weeks.

All my techniques, including the large sad eyes, the guilt trips and the heart-wrenching tales are on their way.

It would be nice to know that, after all that, I would feel a direct interaction with the cause.

Maybe this is asking too much, but it is asking for something sorely needed.

Hours upon hours upon hours taken from highly competent young people should result in more than just dancing and money.

E-mail Joshi at rjoshi@media.ucla.edu if you want to practice making puppy faces. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.