by Mary Liz Flavin | news editor
March 17, 2022
Students along each side of the dividing line eagerly waited for the referee’s call, eyeing which dodgeball they should lunge for first. On the ‘go’ teams of five and six raced to the line to get the ball in their hands first.
On Wednesday March 16, the Society for Advancement of Chicanos, Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) hosted a dodgeball event in which multiple student organizations competed against one another in order to raise money for the charity of their choice.
The rules of dodgeball were simple: don’t touch the blue lines, stay with-in bounds, don’t hit above the shoulder and lastly, be safe. The rounds went in five minute intervals until the final winner was determined. If there was a tie, then the round went into a two minute sudden death round.
Delta Chi Dance, Alpha Phi, Alpha Sigma Tau, SACNAS, field hockey, Frick Frat, Delta Chi V Foundation, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and Tri Beta all competed during the dodgeball event on the fourth floor of the Power Center.
Emma Tobia, a member of Alpha Sigma Tau, was determined at the beginning of the rounds that her team would be successful. After a practice round in which her team got out, Alpha Sigma Tau had a second chance to redeem itself.
“We are going to go out there strong and go out even stronger. Win or lose, we’re going to do it,” Tobia said.
Many teams shared this same sentiment as the game progressed. The main component of the tournament was to have fun and support a good cause.
Sara Hernandez, president of SACNAS, was the primary organizer of the event alongside Fabiola Dejesus, vice president of SACNAS. Together they made sure the dodgeball game ran smoothly.
“One of our main missions is to bring the community together to spread cultural awareness, and what better way to get them involved than a fun, light-hearted game like dodgeball?” Hernandez said. “We made this game so that all the organizations could come together. It means a lot that people showed up and wanted to be a part of this.”
According to Dejesus, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. At one point in time only six teams had signed up, but over the course of two days four to five more teams joined in on the action.
Although all the teams competed their hardest, Delta Chi Dance ended up victorious in a close face-off between themselves and the Delta Chi V Foundation.
Tori Young, a supporting member of Delta Chi Dance, was excited that her team won and was even happier that they raised the most for Dance Marathon, a student-led fundraiser that supports patients at local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and UPMC Children’s Hospital.
“We were playing for Dance Marathon and all of the money gets donated to UPMC Children’s Hospital,” Young said. “I am so proud of them because $300 doesn’t seem like a ton but for us, it makes a big difference for the kids in the hospital.”
Those who didn’t win still had an enjoyable time watching and playing the game. Jarrett Klunk, a member of Frick Frat, left the game in good spirits.
“It’s been a good game, we didn’t tie our shoelaces right but it’s going well. I wore my Magicarpe socks and Captain America mask for the occasion,” Klunk said.
After rounds of close calls, hits and misses at the end of the day, everyone was a winner. Many of Duquesne’s organizations on campus came together to support a good cause as well as compete in a low-stakes game of dodgeball.
