Aggielife
Page 3 • Thursday, February 25, 1999
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Aggie 5 Up All Night marathon to benefit Children’s Miracle Network
"W
om, I have a headache!” This
exclamation is typically a
child’s cry for attention and
maybe a chance to get a day
off of school, but in the case of
Grant Kennedy, his life would never be the
same.
Never worrying about severe health prob
lems, Grant was a strong 13-year-old boy with
dreams of one day playing at Olsen field.
Grant stood five feet ten inches and 170
pounds and showed no signs of slowing
down.
Just a few days after experiencing minor
discomfort, Grant and his family found them
selves in the emergency room at St. Joeseph
Hospital. Grant had his first seizure.
He had three more seizures during the
night. To protect his brain and control the
seizures, doctors put him into a coma.
Toxic shock, 351 tests, a high-frequency
lung ventilator, dialysis, gall-bladder surgery
and a tracheotomy
later, Grant is now
undergoing rehabil
itation at Scott &
White Hospital in Temple. Not exactly living the
ideal childhood. Grant is keeping his hopes high
and enjoying every minute with his family.
Judy Kennedy, Grant’s mother, said she real
ly appreciates all the support her son has been
given.
“We are so thankful. The Bryan/College Sta
tion community has embraced us with open
arms,” she said.
The family said they are glad to come from a
community of such great, friendly people. Their
struggles have been hard, but with the help of
prayer and friends, pain can always be replaced
with hope.
These stories can be viewed as hopeless, but
with the help of support, charity and fundrais
ing, many unfortunate childrens’ lives have been
saved.
The fourth annual Aggies Up All Night Dance
Marathon is one of the fundraising activities
helping children like Grant Kennedy.
Sarah Elliot, event director, said she would
like the marathon to develop into an annual
event at Texas A&M.
“We want to make Aggies Up All Night an Ag
gie tradition,” Elliot said. “It is a long-term event,
raising more funds and awareness than the year
before. ”
Elliot said the dance marathon is a 24-hour
dancing party guaranteed to make your feet sore
but fill your heart with joy.
The event is student run with hours of prepa
ration having gone into ensuring its success. Do
nations are received as pledges from individuals
in the community who sponsor dancers.
The proceeds from Aggies Up All Night ben
efit the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) of the
Brazos Valley.
Judy Kennedy said the CMN is a great orga
nization that has always been there for her fam
ily.
“Since the first day Grant was placed in ICU
here in Temple, Brad Peterson, the Brazos Valley
CMN representative, has been with us,” she said.
“They always remember special days and come
to give him something.”
Nationally, the CMN started 16 years ago as a
charity for children’s hospitals.
Locally, CMN started in April 1995. The CMN
of the Brazos Valley’s mission is to support chil
dren’s services by enhancing the quality of pe
diatric-patient education and care.
The CMN said 100 percent of all money do
nated to the marathon will go toward the sup
port of local, needy children.
Chellette Austin, public relations director for
the event, said she wants Aggies to come out and
use their thoughtful and competitive spirits to
help raise money.
“Penn State started this event years ago and
has continued to raise millions of dollars,”
Austin said. “I know the Aggies could top that
and show people what being an Aggie is all
about.”
Austin said donations are always being taken
graciously, but a great way to donate is to give a
little time and money to Aggies Up All Night.
Austin said she knows Aggies love to dance
and cannot wait to see them at the marathon.
“The average Aggie pays money to a profit or
ganization to dance for a few hours,” Austin
said. “Why not give a little to the children and
dance an entire day!”
Sixth Annual
Film Festival
February 24-28, 1999
Version 6.0 Upgrade Your Independence
hursday, Feb. 25
Naturally Native
7:00 p.m.
Cinemark Hollywood 16
'aturally Native follows the lives, loves, pain, joy and
'elationships of three sisters of American Indian ancestry as
hey attempt to start their own business. Naturally Native
ilso interweaves a subtle, but strong wake-up call regarding
he treatment of Native people in corporate America; and
tlso provides some insight into the tribal infrastructure and
jaming issues.
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The Intervention
9:30 p.m.
Cinemark Hollywood 16
Matt Hirsch is a writer who’s lost faith in the power of
writing. Lately, he’s had suicidal inklings. They’re not
pite tendencies yet, but with a little practice he thinks he
:an get them up there. Nothing’s particularly wrong with
tis life, but then nothing’s particularly right, either. Matt
relieves he’s learned what life has to offer and would just as
soon kill himself, if only he had a gun. Unfortunately, he
ioesn’t feel strongly enough to take action - it’s passion
lhat’ll kill you every time.
Night of Shorts
Friday, Feb. 26
7:00 p.m.
Rudder Auditorium
We will show a series of short Independent films. Check our website for more information.
Dancer, TX Pop. 81
9:30 p.m.
Rudder Auditorium
Welcome to Dancer, Texas, population 81, a sleepy West
Texas town smack in the middle of Brewster County,
right off Highway 91. A town where the nearest
shopping mall is a general store that stocks vegetables
and auto fan belts side by side; where the tastiest cuisine
can be traced to Flora’s Cafe, a greasy spoon with four
tables; and where the showcase of higher learning is a
five-room schoolhouse with 41 students and a high
school graduating class of five - the largest in 20 years.
A town where four Dancer graduates-to-be — Keller,
Terrell Lee, Squirrel and John — contemplate their
futures and wonder if the pact they made at the age of 11
to leave this tiny dustbowl following their impending
graduation will survive the test of time. The moment of truth is just days away, and what seemed like
a concrete decision seven years ago is now fraught with complications. The clock is ticking, and as
all 77 remaining townspeople watch from the sidelines, offer advice, and place bets, these four very
different boys with unique backgrounds struggle with the biggest decision of their lives — whether to
stay or leave home.
Your Friends and Neighbors
Midnight
Rudder Auditorium
From writer/director Neil LaBute, whose first film In the
Company of Men was the most controversial film of the
1997 Sundance Film Festival, comes a new film... and
this time, it’s personal. LaBute moves from theboardroom
to the bedroom for this incendiary cocktail of modem mores set in suburbia. The intimacy
between husbands and wives, between friends and neighbors, is explored... and exploded.
Saturday, Feb. 27
The Dry Season
7:00 p.m.
Rudder Theater
Spencer Keating, a twenty-four-year-old florist,
hasn’t been with a woman for 350 days. If
approaching that ego-smashing year mark isn’t bad
enough, he has to deal with his overbearing,
oversexed best friend, a business deal headed
down the getter, and the all-too familiar problems
of living the single life. This straight-ahead
comedy is set in beautiful Rockland County, New
York; 20 miles north of New York City and will
strike a chord with anyone who has experienced
their own “dry season.”
Origin of the Species
9:30 p.m.
Rudder Theater
Six friends play the game of life.
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Remake, by Dr. Marian Fide, Library Annex, Rm
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" e:K The Film Consciousness and Poetry, by Dr. Paul
Christensen, Library Annex 417C, 4:00 p.m.
417C, 2:00 p.m.
Workshops:
Film on Film, by Dr. Terence Hoagwood,
Rudder Tower Rm 701, 2:00 p.m.
Film Making Workshop, by Gary Ellenburg,
Library Annex, Rm 417B, 12:00 p.m.
Screenwriters Workshop, by Tim McCanlies
Rudder Tower, Rm. 701, 2:00 p.m.
Jg:;.; Tickets: $3.00 Each, $15.00 Festival Pass (Purchase all tickets at the MSC Box Office- 845-1234). For More Info. Call 847-8478 or Check out our Website www.texasfilmfestival.org.
Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. Hfr The Sixth Annual Texas Film Festival is a presentation of the MSC Film Society of Texas A&M.