Free food, dates with sororities and an opportunity to dunk a professor into a pit of cold water brought barrels of student organizations to the College of Agricultural Sciences Wednesday.

Agriculture students and faculty members gathered at the Bull Test Station on Rowden Road to take part in the Annual Spring Fling, a social that allows faculty and students to interact outside of the lecture hall. The Agbassadors, who hosted the event, spent most of the semester planning the dinner of pulled barbeque pork as well as student organization relay races.

Amanda Barczewski, graduate adviser of the group, said the event is one of the biggest socials for the college this semester. The attendance of students, faculty and student organizations showed how everyone is willing to come together and have a good time, she said.

Kathleen Carmack, a sophomore from Villa Grove studying plant and soil science, was one of the Agbassadors who planned the event. Carmack said the evening was not just a chance for students to interact with faculty, but to spend time with friends they might not be able to see outside of class.

“I think it is important to have a night just for fun for the students,” Carmack said.

Carmack and the rest of the group’s social committee gathered donations for food, T-shirts and prizes from local businesses.

One of the most popular events had students slamming teachers down in the dunk tank.

Todd Winters, chair of the Animal Science and Food Nutrition Department, was one of the faculty members brave enough to get dunked in the cold water numerous times by students and even his family members.

Winters said events such as this are the reason the college has so many students involved in a number of agricultural clubs. It is not just a social, he said, but also a way to fund the Agbassadors, who worked hard all year.

Another organization that attended the fling was the Sigma Alpha sorority. Jenna Wicks, a sophomore from Ancona studying agriculture education, said she and others in the sorority sold tickets to win a date with a Sigma Alpha or the chance to throw pies at them.

The tickets were $2 each and the sorority raised $200 before the Spring Fling. Wicks said she hoped they were able to raise more during the event. Profits go to the Relay For Life, which the group plans to participate in at the end of the month, Wicks said.

Besides raising money, Wicks said she also thinks the event brings everyone close together. She said the dinner, games and relaxed interaction between students and faculty said a lot about the event’s value.

“I think this was a great way to show students the faculty cares about them,” Wicks said.

Jenn Lofton can be reached at

536-3311 ext. 270 or [email protected].