Bowling for charity

Sophomore Naomi Zander picked up a bowling ball Wednesday night at the Suburban Lanes Bowling Alley, slowly stepped up to the line and heaved it toward 10 unsuspecting pins.\nThe ball gradually curved left before falling harmlessly into the gutter three quarters of the way down the lane.\n"I'm horrible -- my average is like a 30," Zander said. "I really like bumpers, but they were like, 'We don't give bumpers to people if they're over 10.'"\nWhile Zander did knock one pin over on her second throw, this event wasn't about competition -- at least not for the highest score. Eighty-five teams of IU students competed in Bowl for Kids' Sake 2004 Wednesday and Thursday nights, each raising at least $420 to be donated to the Big Brothers Big Sisters charity. \nThe Apparel Merchandising Organization won the trophy for raising the most money Thursday night after raising $3,650. Kappa Alpha Theta was second with $2,701 and Civic Leadership Development took third with $2,568. As a whole, the bowl raised $28,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters.\nEvent coordinator Lindsey Novak, a sophomore, said she was pleased with the record turnout for the event.\n"We have the highest number of teams this year, so I'm impressed," she said. "I'm glad people came out for a good cause -- that's all that really matters."\nForty-five teams competed Wednesday night during one-and-a-half hour sessions, the first beginning at 9 p.m. Black lights and loud music accompanied the constant sound of bowling balls rolling down wooden lanes and the smashing of pins, intermittently broken up by cheers and applause. \nStudents from Greek houses, dorms, service organizations and student groups all made teams, some of them forming more than one team. The Apparel Merchandising Organization had 10 different teams, and 47 members of Alpha Chi Omega, including its entire pledge class, filled up six lanes.\n"It's for a really good cause to help out the little kids with Big Brothers Big Sisters," said freshman Alpha Chi Omega member Hayley Ruemler, who personally raised $70 toward the team fee. "Our whole pledge class chose to do it." \nFoster resident Brittney Wing, captain for The Champions team, bowled a strike in the first few rounds of the tournament.\n"I'm not a very good bowler," she said. "It's all luck." \nBetween frames, students enjoyed free drinks and participated in an array of raffles and contests announced over the loudspeaker. Prizes, ranging from gift certificates to beads, were handed out for students who rolled gutter balls over a certain time, who could sing the IU fight song and who could Hula Hoop the longest.\n"I'm not a good bowler, but we're having fun," freshman Liz Harvey of Kppa Alpha Theta said. "We're doing it for the kids, and it's a lot of fun."\n-- Contact campus editor Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.