photo by Sydney Schaefer
Rock-A-Thon on the second floor of Lawrence Hall on Nov. 6.
photo by Syndey Schaefer
Baskets donated from different Point Park clubs and organizations were raffled off at the WPPJ Rock-A-Thon
Sixty-seven hours after sitting down in front of the microphone, Zack Durkin and Aubrey Henken duked it out to see who would win the title of The Last DJ Standing.
The two WPPJ disc jockeys had stayed behind the microphone, playing music and helping out with basket raffles over the course of three days. It was all to raise money for The Early Learning Institute (TELI) in Pittsburgh during WPPJ’s 34th annual Rock-A-Thon.
The sleeplessness was showing.
“It’s been almost 24 hours now and I’m tired,” Durkin, WPPJ’s assistant general manager, said during an interview on Wednesday afternoon.
The event was held on the second floor of Lawrence Hall from 1 p.m. on Nov. 4 to 7 a.m. on Nov. 7, which added up to 67 straight hours of music and fun.
After the 67 hours came to an end, both DJs were extremely tired and ready for the event to be over and see who would win The Last DJ Standing title.
The competition started in the early years of the Rock-A-Thon. Before, it was just one DJ staying up the entire 67 hours, but then it evolved into a contest between multiple DJs.
Normally, the competing DJs would be at the event and on air when the regular WPPJ staff DJs were not. The two competing DJs try to raise more money than the other one and keep people that come to the event informed about what is going on, according to Nathan Keenan, WPPJ’s general manager.
Henken ended up winning the title of The Last DJ Standing after Durkin fell asleep on air during the radio station’s morning show on the last day of the event.
Other events were held during the Rock-A-Thon such as a pie-a-CF contest and a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament.
The radio station brought in different bands to play some live, acoustic performances to contribute to music being shared at this event on the last night.
Many different Point Park clubs and organizations donated baskets to be raffled off at the end of the event. Some of the clubs and organizations that donated were Her Campus, Impulse and the Knitting Club.
An autographed photograph of a retired Steelers player was also donated to the event and raffled off.
The exact dollar amount that the Rock-A-Thon raised is still being determined. However, all the money WPPJ raises throughout the year will be donated to TELI in Pittsburgh, the same organization WPPJ has been donating the money they raise to for 34 years and counting.
“It’s an organization that helps children that have special needs or have any other kinds of disabilities,” Keenan said.
TELI provides different individualized developmental programs and preschool programs and services for children with various abilities. The organization also collaborates with other community organizations to help carry out its mission, according to its website.
Just this semester, the radio station raised several hundreds of dollars to donate to TELI in Pittsburgh at the end of the school year.
The WPPJ Rock-A-Thon first started 34 years ago when former Dean Charles Quillin approached the radio station with the idea of having a fundraiser for an organization where he was on the Board of Trustees, which became TELI.
Point Park students agree that donating the money raised by WPPJ to The Early Learning Institute is great.
“I love how students are giving back to students,” Jacqueline Roberts-Kpan, a sophomore journalism major, said.
