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Paint Wars, one of the messiest Barton College traditions, took place on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at on the lawn behind East Campus Suites.
This was the fourth year Barton College hosted this event that is sponsored by the Bulldogs United Committee and the Barton College Student Government Association ( SGA).
Paint Wars has become one of the most recent traditions at Barton College. The purpose of the event was to raise money for the United Way that partners with the Bulldogs United Committee.
Each person who participated paid a $10 entry fee to partake in Paint Wars. This cost included a white tee shirt and a paint bottle. Participants could also purchase more bottles of paint for an additional fee of $2 per bottle.
Students and faculty/staff were given a paint bottle, with each group having a different color. Each student class had colors that matched with their team members and the faculty and staff had their own paint color.
The objective of Paint Wars was to cover the other teams with more paint of one color. It was a fasted paced and sticky occasion.
Since the freshman group was so large, judges decided to let the other classes collaborate together to have more of an equal opportunity. Every participant wore a shirt that read, “this shirt used to be white.”
Paint bottles were held up in the air and everyone started flinging paint toward the opposing teams. White tee shirts began to look like abstract paint masterpieces and everyone was scrambling to cover the other teams with the most paint.
After the chaos was over, three judges in blue tee shirts ruled that this year’s winning group was the Class of 2020. The freshman class painted the scene green with their paint bottles in hand and now a victorious Paint Wars finish under their belt.
Rachel Kruger, SGA president, said 79 people participated in the Paint Wars event this year. There were also a number of spectators who attended.
Some of those spectators were sponsors, friends, classmates and coworkers. Any person or organization on campus was allowed to sponsor a student or faculty member. Sponsors paid the entry fee and had someone else actively participate in the Paint Wars event.
Jessica Pate, junior at Barton College and managing editor of the “Collegiate,” was one of the two students sponsored by the Student Ambassadors group. This was the first time Pate had participated in Paint Wars.
Students that participated were entered for a chance to win a $200 gift card or one of four reserved parking spots on campus. They were also allowed to pay $5 per chance additionally to raise their odds in winning the giveaways.
Colette Lapresi, a freshman who participated in Paint Wars for the first time, said, “It was a lot of fun.”
Lapresi did not expect such a messy aftermath. “Honestly I wasn’t expecting to get paint dumped down my neck, but it was totally worth it and I’m really excited for next year,” she said.
Chante Wilson, a junior participating for the second time, said, “It’s really fun. You get sticky out there but it is all worth it.”
Mary Sutherland and Kaitlyn Carlson, both seniors at Barton College, said they also think Paint Wars is a very fun event. The had participated in Paint Wars their freshman year
“It’s different because now we’re going from being the big group of freshman to the seven seniors (participating),” said Carlson.
Each participant left the event with a white shirt that was made into a shirt with an artist array of colors. This painted tee shirt has left memories for several students and the campus community, and the reminder has left many people anticipating next year’s Paint Wars.
By: Luisa Torres
Staff Writer
