Blue and yellow balls flew back and forth across Irving Gym 2 Monday night as Chicken Little, King Kong and their teammates - several ducking to avoid the line of fire - hustled after the balls.
At least 50 Ball State University students attended Spectrum's first dodge ball tournament, many dressed in costumes of characters from major movies, musicals and television shows +â-óGé¼" "The Phantom of the Opera," "Harry Potter," "Mean Girls" and the cartoon "Doug," among others. Six teams engaged in the competition, many shouting, laughing and clapping as opponents were struck by the flying balls.
Spectrum serves as Ball State's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight ally association.
Monday's dodge ball event was a way to have fun on Halloween and wrap up the organization's first Pride Month, which was more successful than some Spectrum members anticipated.
October's events raised about $1,500 to donate to the Damien Center in Indianapolis, Zac Davis, Spectrum's president, said. According to its Web site, the mission of the Damien Center is to empower people who are affected by HIV. Last spring, Spectrum raised more than $1,000 for the center.
"Overall, for our first month of events, we're very proud," said Davis, who was dressed as Malfoy from "Harry Potter" during the dodge ball tournament. "I think that as we continue to do this, it's going to continue to pick up steam."
From Spectrum's drag show, to its National Coming Out Day recognition, to the transgender panel, October's events drew a variety of students.
"It exceeded my (expectations)," said Spectrum member David Black, who was dressed as a cowboy. "Everything this year had either a decent turnout or a really great turnout. The speakers were great, the drag show was wonderful +â-óGé¼" everything was really, really good."
Monday's dodge ball tournament was no exception.
"I just remembered how much I sucked at this game when I was younger," Spectrum member Anita Brown, who was dressed as a Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel, said. "It's just fun to act like children. It's Halloween +â-óGé¼" we're supposed to act like children."
As Pride Month concluded Monday night with the tournament, Davis said he hoped students took something away from Spectrum's events. In addition to providing entertainment for students, the events aimed to raise awareness about minority issues in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
"Overall, with the variety of events we had, I'm hoping people could come into a non-threatening environment and gain a better understanding of gay culture," Davis said.
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