Every year, many organizations on campus compete to collect the most non-perishable goods and build the best “castle.” All of the proceeds go first to Mines students, staff, and faculty who are in need and then to CAG Food Bank who will distribute the donations to those who are are also in need here in Golden. The goal this year was an astonishing five-thousand pounds of cans! Nate Skinner, social chair for the Order of Omega stated, “Our goal was 5,000 cans, at this point, we are at 7,200 pounds.” The Order of Omega lead the Castle of Cans along with the Holiday Food Drive.
Some of the groups that participated in the Castle of Cans were the combined Beta Theta Pi and Alpha Phi team, Blue Key, the Resident Hall Association, Inter-varsity, and many other Greek houses. A total of 12 student organizations participated in this event. Some of the objects built were a gigantic R2-D2, Dracula in his coffin, the Harry Potter logo, the Mines logo, and M&Ms. Tim Burns, of team Inter-Varsity, commented, “My favorite part of Castle of Cans was seeing what other people built, and I think our R2-D2 is a little fat.” Another member of Inter-Varsity team, Marilyn Sparks, stated, “We have over 1000 pounds of cans in our castle alone.” Some of the objects donated include canned vegetables, fruit, and peanut butter. Items like Jell-O, cereal, and kids snacks also made it into many of the castles that were constructed.
All the castles constructed had to follow a set of regulations. These regulations included only packaged cans or food could be used, the structure must have been self-supporting, the teams had a little less than five hours to build, and the structure must be built in a six foot by six foot area. Once all of the teams completed their castle, their constructions were judged on the number of cans, the most weight, the most creative structure, best structure, and the best overall. As an added incentive, each team received a certificate just for participating.
When was all said and done, RHA was victorious by winning most cans, most weight, and best overall. Although, a scandal has since arisen that states that RHA could not have used a 42” television as a means to promote students to bring in cans. Debatable tactics do not, however, depreciate from the amount of food that is going to go to help many needy students this Thanksgiving. Congratulations to all of the organizations that participated in this wonderful event.