Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate President Mitch Robinson spent part of his Saturday afternoon licking the remnants of pies off of his face.
Although he lost count of the total number of pies hurled at him after around 10, their taste stuck with him. "The whipped cream was good," he said.
Robinson was one of six people who volunteered their faces for charity this weekend as part of the sorority Alpha Omicron Pi's (AOII) fundraiser, "Strike Out Arthritis."
The three-hour event, which was held outside of the Mayer Campus Center, gave students the opportunity to unleash some whipped cream pies on their choice of notable campus leaders.
Targets included Robinson; Senate Historian and sophomore Neil DiBiase; former Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) Co-President and senior Arielle Traub; Inter-Greek Council (IGC) President and junior Ian McClellan; Coordinator for Programs and Special Projects James Ryan, who works in the Dean of Students office; and 2006 Homecoming King senior Jeff Vanderkruik.
Games such as "pin the trunk on the Jumbo" and a pi?±ata were also featured at the event, as was entertainment by D.J. Forced Triple, breakdancing group TURBO, and comedian and senior Neil Padover.
By charging $3 to throw a pie, $5 to move closer and push the pie in the person's face, and $2 for three swings at the pi?±ata, organizers raised over $300 that will go toward funding arthritis research grants and juvenile arthritis education grants.
Previously, AOII had raised money for arthritis research and education in the spring via an organized dodgeball game.
In the fall, the sorority typically fundraises for the same cause by sponsoring an Italian dinner with food that local restaurants donate.
The change from a dodgeball game to this weekend's format was meant to increase the visibility of the fundraising and attract participation from non-Greeks.
"In the past it just wasn't as successful as I thought that it could have been, and it didn't get our name out very well," sophomore and AOII fundraising chair Lisa Haubenstock said.
"It was much more restricted to the Greek community. I wanted to make an event that was more open to the campus as a whole."
These efforts, she said, were successful. "It went really well [and] we had a good turnout," Haubenstock said. "It was just something new and exciting that we hadn't done before."
Even the victims said they enjoyed the event.
"It was a great cause and I was happy to help out, especially because I got to eat pie while doing it," McClellan said.
According to McClellan, who is also the president of Theta Chi, there were a few unplanned pies thrown in addition to the original roster.
"Six people signed up, but some audience members took part as well," he said.
DiBiase said that he is always glad to see the community service aspect of Greek life highlighted.
"I had a lot of fun and it was great to help out a [good] cause and to be able to show a different side of Greek life that a lot of people don't get to see," he said.
Rob Silverblatt contributed reporting to this article.
