Homecoming: Math & Comp Sci triumph at hotwing eating contest

Hot wings, tears, and milk were all abundant at this year’s faculty hot wing eating contest organized by Up ‘Til Dawn, a CSM student group that raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. St. Jude advances cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases such as cancer using research and treatment. Their one guiding principle is that no child is denied treatment based on race, religion, or a family’s ability to pay.

Up ‘Tll Dawn raised money through this event by placing donation jars in the offices of each competing department. For every $10 donated, one regular hot wing was replaced by a blazing wing during the competition. The more students donated, the more pain their professors suffered through. Five different departments competed – Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, Engineering, Residence Life, and Mining Engineering. Each was given thirty hot wings and allowed three faculty members to eat all of them as quickly as possible. Whoever finished all 30 was declared the winner.

The initial leader was the Engineering Department. They were able to devour 8 wings in the time it took the others to eat 4, but the heat hit them and they were bogged down. Towards the end, it became a competition between the Chemistry and Math and Computer Science departments. In the end, the math professors were able to handle the heat and proved that with respect to hot wings, math is greater than chemistry.

Upon completion of the competition, the competitors could only focus on drinking their milk. Dr. Scott Strong declined to comment about his experience. Resident Assistant Elizabeth Pettinger said, “It was death, but in a good way.” She also added that, “Milk is like heaven.”

This event combined the hilarity of faculty coping with extremely hot food with an important charitable fundraiser. Over $500 was raised for St. Jude this year, and all the students who saw it enjoyed quite a show. Dr. Robert Racicot best summed up the experience for all participants, “It was bleeping hot.”

Delete this part before it goes in: Racicot’s quote is exactly what he said.