Club jumps to raise money for AIDS research
The motto of the Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp) is “sound mind, sound body,” which is exactly what the Jumpathon, held Thursday and Friday, promotes. The 36-hour community-sponsored event was held to help raise money for YouthAIDS, SigEp’s philanthropy.
The Jumpathon had many events and prizes during its 36-hour period, with three different trampolines provided by SigEp, a USU fraternity. These events involved a punt, kick, pass competition in which the winner received a free one-hour massage; a golf pitching pass in which one contestant on a tramp had to catch a golf ball hit by another contestant with a pitching wedge; a makeup relay in which three contestants were judged on their makeup artistry while jumping on a trampoline.
Most students were attracted by the trampolines and were asked to donate one dollar to YouthAIDS and sign a waiver. Students jumped for a variety of reasons.
“I love jumping and so I brought my friends with me,” said Andy Rawlings, junior studying secondary ed.
His friend Jake Sparks, junior studying psychology, agreed.
“I love trampolines and jumping on them,” he said.
Rawlings and Sparks felt it was a good event because they were unfamiliar with YouthAIDS before the jumpathon put on by SigEp.
YouthAIDS is an organization whose goal is to educate youth worldwide about AIDS. They work in 60 different countries internationally. In 2006 YouthAIDS launched its “Kick Me Campaign,” in which they related AIDS to having a “Kick Me” sign on ones back: it’s there but the person doesn’t know he has it on. The Jumpathon is an extension of this campaign.
Ryan Jackman, senior studying liberal arts and President of SigEp, said several measures have been taken to promote the program.
“We put on a big triathlon in the spring and thought that this would be a good event to get our name and more importantly YouthAIDS name out there,” he said.
SigEp encourages its members to build relationships with each other, build resumes and prepare for life after college.
“We are a dry fraternity that is very involved in leadership and service. We carry an average of a 3.2 GPA, which is higher than the average male GPA at Utah State University.” Jackman said.
The service aspect of SigEp is what drew freshman Olin McNeil, a biology/pre-med major, to SigEp and the Jumpathon festivities Thursday and Friday.
“They pulled me into it, I’m not a member yet but its a good cause and its done really well. All the money made goes to AIDS and thats great,” McNeil said.
The main event of the Jumpathon was a contest to see who could jump for the longest period of time on a trampoline.
“I had a lot of time in between classes so I figured it was a cool cause and I should try it out. It’s the worst ever, it’s like jumping on a blanket on the ground,” said Brian Woodward, freshman in aviation.
Daniel Wilson, undeclared freshman, tried to beat Woodward’s two hour and 46 minute record. He was hoping to win the grand prize which was a year-long membership to Sports Academy valued at $400. He wanted to give the prize as a birthday present for his mom if he were to win.
“It would be cool to give her something I worked hard for because she works so hard for me,” he said.
“I think its been a success, I hope we’ve reached a lot more people than we know,” Jackman said.
When it came down to it, though, the activity seemed to have broad interest among students.
“Everyone should jump. Kids shouldn’t have AIDS, I’ll jump to that,” Sparks said.
–beck.turner@aggiemail.usu.edu