Watermelon Bust raises $19,000 for domestic violence awareness

More than 100 teams of sororities and fraternities gathered in the LaFollette field Saturday to participate in the 41st annual Watermelon Bust, organized by Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Chi Omega.

“The point of Watermelon Bust is to help spread awareness about the prevention of domestic violence,” said Caitlyn Spring, Alpha Chi Omega president. “We raise money for A Better Way and te American Red Cross. It’s a tradition that has been carried on between Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Chi Omega for 41 years.”

Last year, they had 70 teams compete in the philanthropy. The increase in teams this year raised about $19,000, breaking the previous campus record of $15,000.

“It’s an amazing feeling and I could not be more proud of both Alpha Chi Omega and and Delta Tau Delta,” Sprong said.

Sprong said to raise money, they spread awareness for the event and got sponsors throughout the community and through families and participants.

The teams competed in a variety of activities to earn points.

“It’s smashing watermelons, pushing watermelons with your head, really just having fun for a good cause,” Sprong said.

Each of the events had a different point value and the team with the most points at the end won. This year’s winner was Phi Gamma Delta.

Sophomore telecommunications major Stuart Filipp was a winner in the watermelon eating contest.

“It’s a lot of fun; it gets everyone together and no one’s in a bad mood,” he said.

For one contest, two contestants had to dig through a kiddie pool filled with water and watermelon chunks to find a piece of taped watermelon.

One of the competitors, Rachel Cunigan, a junior political science major, said she participated because her sisters really wanted her to.

“Last year I was the last player and it was like me – if I didn’t get it we weren’t going to win and I just went ho-hong and I was pushing people out of the way so it was just a lot of fun,” she said.

Senior elementary and special education major Alex Zaiger said her favorite event was the Slip ‘n Slide race.

“It’s a lot of fun to come out and spend time with your sorority and raise money for a good cause and look stupid,” Zaiger said.