Chocolate slide sweeps Aggies off their feet

Poised in chocolate-covered readiness, a crowd of sticky students waited for one word to begin their sugary slide down Old Main Hill.

“Go!” a man yelled through a megaphone.

With that, the crowd surged forward, diving onto the plastic tarps. Water and oil mixed with chocolate syrup slicked the plastic tarps, making slowing down impossible for many students as they careened down the slide.

“It’s a little scary,” said Nicole Smith, a sophomore in finance and economics. “I’m scared someone is going to run in the back of me, but so far nothing’s happened, so we’re good.”

For a dosing of chocolate syrup and a signed waiver, students were swept off their feet at the Chocolate Water Slide, organized by Aggie Wishmakers on Campus and Creative Guy Productions.

For some, the sticky experience was everything the event’s Facebook page said it would be.

“It was awesome,” said Shaylee Wilson a freshman in nursing. “It was way better than I thought it would be.”

But there was more to the event than chocolate and water.

“We did it to raise awareness for our club on campus,” said Aubrey Griffeth, a finance and economics junior and president of Wishmakers. “A lot of people don’t know what it is.”

The club works with Make-A-Wish Foundation, a charity that grants the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threating illnesses.

Wishmakers began two years ago with USU pre-medical student Cameron Brock, who became involved with Make-A-Wish after he was diagnosed with cancer while in high school.

“He’s my best friend,” said Evan Folland, senior in mechanical engineering and member of Wishmakers.”He got really involved with Make-A-Wish and brought us along. It’s a great foundation and I really enjoy what they do and what they stand for. It’s just fun to see the wishes of kids granted through you and to help them through the hard times.”

Beside raising awareness for the club, the event also raised money at for Make-A-Wish, encouraging participants to donate $2 to the charity.

“All the proceeds that we get are going to the kids,” Griffeth said. “All of our tarps were donated and everyone brings their own chocolate, so all we have to do is raise the money and give it to Make-A-Wish.”

Last year, the club brought about 300 students to the event. This year nearly 1,000 peopled planned on attending, according to the event’s Facebook page.

“A lot of people love to do this stuff,” Smith said. “So really easy to get the funds for children who need it.”

But this is not the only event Wishmakers had a large turn out for. Last year, the club organized Wish Upon A Star Night at Blue Square with the help of Creative Guy Productions co-founder Dane Sullivan Cooper, a junior in communications.

Griffeth said 300 people originally signed up to attend the event, but more than 800 people showed up.

For the slide, Griffeth estimated more than 1,200 people came.

“Whenever we throw these events, I want it to be something to remember,” Cooper said. “I want the experience of being all sticky and oily with chocolate an experience they’ll never forget.”