OPINION 2-3
CAMPUS 3-7
A8E 8

SLIPSTICK 9
SPORTS 10-11

 

9th Annual Pumpkin Launch
catapults campus into autumn

Kori Bowns
BUSINESS MANAGER

October brings a lot of things to the
life of a college student. Leaves start chang-
ing colors, weather starts getting colder, and
the days start getting longer as the reprieve
of winter break slowly inches nearer. But Il—
linois Tech students have more to look forward
to than receiving midterm grades and drink-
ing pumpkin spice lattes—October also brings
Pumpkin Launch to the IIT community.

Last Saturday, 12 machines were
lined up along the baselines of Ed Glancy
Field for the 9th annual Illinois Tech Pumpkin
Launch, hosted by IIT’s Biomedical Engineer-
ing Society. Pumpkin Launch is a tradition at
Illinois Tech where teams of students across
a variety of disciplines compete to build ma-
chines that throw pumpkins across our base—
ball field, Prizes are awarded for teams that

mmpkins the furthest, with the most

accuracy, and for a team voted "crowd favorite”
— a new award for this year’s competition.

Over 100 students worked toward
launchers for this year’s competition, which
is a part of HTS annual family weekend. This
Pumpkin Launch was one of the biggest turn-
outs for the event yet.

Many IIT students, staff, alumni,
and other spectators come out to watch the
event, but some looked forward to the blun-
ders as much as they did the impressive feats
of engineering. Some launchers unfortunately
broke before being able to complete all of

their launches, and others occasionally fired a
pumpkin backwards or straight up into the air.

After three rounds of launches, the
prize winners were announced. The first place
winner for the distance competition was team
Long Shot, with a winning distance of 361 feet.
Long Shot was comprised of two mechanical
engineering students who built a floating arm
trebuchet that was 18 feet tall. The second place
winner was team Keep on Chunkin’ with 205
feet; third place went to team NSBE (National
Society of Black Engineers) with a distance of
172 feet.

The accuracy awards were deter-
mined by comparing a launcher team’s pre-
dicted distance to their actual distance. The
first place winner for this category was Mach
1, a team that had constructed a centripetal
launcher and was comprised of students from
the Illinois Tech Robotics team, with an accu-
racy of over 99 percent. Second place went to
Keep on Chunkin’ with an accuracy of 97 per-
cent, and third place went to Long Shot with an
accuracy of 95 percent.

The Crowd Favorite award went
home with Dirty Winches, another team com—
prised of Illinois Tech Robotics students, sev-
eral of whom dressed up as pirates to add a
theme to their onager launcher.

Many students who participate in
Pumpkin Launch value the rapport that they
build with their teammates through com-
pleting the often-difficult task of building a
launcher.

“As much as I know my team might

not win, we’re all here together having a great
time bonding and getting to know each other,”
said Emilie Woog, third year electrical engi-
neering major and captain of the Dirty Winch-
es team. “This is my third year competing, and
my first time leading a team. After this expe—
rience, I know I’ll continue competing and
working with my fellow students.”

Rafael Soto, President of [ITS Soci—
ety of Physics Students, the organization that
took home several of last year’s prizes, loves
the impressive machines that students are ca-
pable of building. “The best part of the Pump-
kin Launch is the sheer awe when arriving to
the field and witnessing the different launchers
that everyone has made. You can tell that ev-
ery team put sweat and thought into their ma-
chines," Soto said. He also urges that younger
students get involved on Pumpkin Launch
teams in future years, “this is a phenomenal
way to put your schoolwork and skills into
practice, in a fun way.”

In addition to the pumpkin carnage,
the site of Pumpkin Launch had a few other
activities going on with something for every-
one. Mini-pumpkin decorating was hosted
by Union Board, and pumpkin carving was
hosted by the Residence Hall Association at
the conclusion of launches.

Soto encourages the entirety of the
[IT community to come out to watch Pumpkin
Launch in coming years, “there’s nothing quite
like watching wooden contraptions swing
pumpkins through the air while you enjoy free
food!”

 

Photii lay Kanjowns