Students pedal for a good cause

POSTED AT 12:00 AM ON Apr. 11, 2008 
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Little 500 riders may have been squeezing in some extra practice Wednesday, but they were not the only ones on bikes.

The IU chapter of Building Tomorrow hosted its inaugural event, “No Spandex Required,” where people hopped on stationary bikes to “ride” the 7,710 miles between Bloomington and Uganda and raise money to build schools in the sub-Saharan African nation.

“I am so excited,” said sophomore Emily Hughes. “It is a fun activity that takes just five to 10 minutes between classes.”

Hughes said she liked this form of charity because it was accessible.

“It is not a three-hour thing where you have to set time aside,” she said. “You can just hop on a bike between classes.”

Stationary bikes were placed throughout campus in locations such as the entrance to the Arboretum, the kiosk in front of Ballantine Hall and the Teter Quad courtyard from noon to 8 p.m. Riders were asked to donate at least $2 for every mile they rode. Around 8:30 p.m., all of the bikes were moved to Dunn Meadow, where the screening of “Breaking Away” took place. People could continue to ride while watching the film.

All of the bikes were from previous Little 500 races. This was purposely crafted to give everyone a chance to ride and be a part of the excitement for Little 500 weekend. Building Tomorrow member sophomore Trevor Shirley said the group tried to use creative approaches to attract people.

“It is a novelty with Little 5 coming up,” he said.

Although people did volunteer to ride the stationary bikes, much of the time the bikes sat empty.

“It is interesting,” said Maria Srour, co-president and co-founder of the IU chapter of Building Tomorrow. “People are giving money, but we are finding that a lot of people don’t want to ride.”

Graduate assistant Kevin Doran stopped by the stationary bikes outside of Ballantine Hall and donated $40 to the cause.

“One of my students gave an announcement in class, so I thought I would come out to support,” Doran said.

However, he was among those who did not ride.

Srour said her goal was to raise at least $5,000. By the end of the day, the group had raised about $2,500.

“The first year is the hardest,” Shirley said. “Hopefully it will jog people’s memories in the future.”

The first time is more about publicity and getting the word out, Srour said.

Srour co-founded the IU chapter of Building Tomorrow last spring. The chapter hopes to continue to raise money for its cause each year.

“Ideally we want to host one big event in the spring and one in the fall,” Srour said.

The money raised will go toward the construction of schools in Uganda.

“It is hard to stop problems if there is no means in educating people about them,” Srour said.

She said if people were properly educated about sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS may not be as big a problem.

“Everyone talks about problems in Africa,” Srour said, giving an example of the AIDS problem in Africa. “A lot can be solved through education – everything starts in schools.”

Hughes said she decided to ride Wednesday because she thought the event hit close to home.

“It is students helping students and furthering education, and that is what college is all about,” she said.

Srour said she considered the event a success as long as word got out and people were getting excited, so “No Spandex Required” can become an annual event.