Students attempt 'Thriller' record
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Devil47h
, 08 2008 . 14:30 ()
Students attempt 'Thriller' record
By Molly Montag Journal staff writer
VERMILLION, S.D. -- Students at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion worked up a sweat this weekend trying to break a world record and raise money for a good cause.
The students -- 123 to be exact -- got their groove on in the Vermillion High School gymnasium to try to break the world record for the largest number of people to successfully complete the steps to Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
Many of them soon came to a stark realization -- Thriller is a really long song. Learning all the steps for the 6-minute song was a challenge, said 20-year-old Jeremy Nebelsick.
"I don't stay focused very well," said Nebelsick, a business finance student from Huron, S.D.
On command, everyone laid down in a circle in the center of the gym. As the beat started thumping, they slowly stood up as the music grew louder.
Soon they were stomping, twisting, snapping, shaking their hips and shimmying to the music.
The world record attempt, which must be verified by the Guinness Book of World Records, was part of the school's annual Dance Marathon festivities.
Dance Marathon raises money for Children's Miracle Network, which funds children's hospitals and research.
Thriller might seem like an obscure record, but several groups recently attempted the record and others are planning attempts later in the year. Multiple groups claim in online postings to have the record, but one of the Vermillion event's organizers, Ben Struyk, 22, said the students were trying to break a 62-person mark set last year in Toronto, Canada.
Before the event, Struyk had confidence USD students would pull through.
"It's kind of on the fly, but I think a lot of people like it," said Struyk, a senior marketing student from Omaha.
Record-breaking is serious business. Students had to find two independent advisers to watch, witnesses and sign in every student who participated. They also planned to videotape and photograph the event.
All the material will be forwarded to Guinness Book of World Record officials.
Although Thriller was for fun, the university's Dance Marathon effort was for a good cause. The event annually raises about $30,000 for Children's Miracle Network. More than $230,000 since its 1997 inception at the Vermillion campus.
USD alumna Becky Evans, who graduated in May, and her family spoke to students before they attempted the record. Evans, as well as her older brother, were both treated at a Children's Hospital of Omaha.
Evans' mother, Jeanette, thanked the students for their efforts, saying her family has seen first-hand the difference money donated to Children's Miracle Network makes at local hospitals.
"We couldn't be more proud of what you do and we couldn't be more grateful," said Jeanette Evans.
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