Music filled the halls of the upper floor in the GUC March 4 as students danced to promote funding for the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).

DeAnte’ Smith, assistant director of student engagement for Greek affairs, said 75 percent of each chapter of the UNA Greek community was required to attend the event, but that many showed up and left the event early.

“When I got there, I was so excited and overwhelmed by the turnout, but when I came back later on in the night, a huge amount of people had left,” DeAnte’ Smith said “I was disappointed in the Greek system as a whole. To see them leave was heartbreaking and disappointing.”

Many of the services for the event, including the DJ, were provided for free, DeAnte’ Smith said. Graduate Assistant for Greek Life Savannah Smith said the planning took more than a year.

“Attendance was an afterthought with all this because I thought the turnout would be there,” DeAnte’ Smith said.

The event, which was supposed to last until 9 p.m., was closed at 8 p.m. due to poor attendance, Savannah Smith said.

Savannah Smith said that because the Greek community was required to attend the event, a reprimand will occur, but she hasn’t yet decided what it will be.

Savannah Smith said she hopes they don’t lose interest in this because they will do a full event next year.

Dance Marathon’s first fundraiser of the year was Spirit Night Feb. 27 at Buffalo Wild Wings where $275 was raised.

The three-hour event kicked off a year of fundraising for CMN, which will be celebrated by a full-length dance marathon that will be held in March 2014 and last for 18 hours and 30 minutes. The duration is symbolic of UNA’s founding in 1830.

All of the proceeds from the yearlong fundraising will go to Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.

Greek Life, specifically Order of Omega, is the host of Dance Marathon and the fundraising for CMN.

Editors Blythe Steelman and Alex Lindley contributed to this report.