NO SLEEP FOR A JEEP

One lucky person with cold, chapped lips walked away from Delta Upsilon with a brand new jeep Saturday, and all he had to do was kiss the car. \nBut this prince of an idea turns frog in a second when one realizes the winner of the Fifth annual Delta Upsilon/ Kappa Delta Jeep Kiss-Off had to stand for 30 hours, part of the time on one leg, to win the prize.\nThe lucky winner, freshman Brian Laiderman of Alpha Tau Omega, stood for 30 hours glued to the Jeep. He won after the only other standing contestant, sophomore Mary Rothring, collapsed from exhaustion, though she is now fine. \n"The hardest part was standing on one foot for two hours straight," Laiderman said. "I had no idea where I was or what just happened for the past 30 hours when I won, but I was excited."\nThe fraternity buys the Jeep for a discount and then raffles it off. The proceeds from the contest go to the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington. Senior Matt Finder, who was in charge of the event with senior Sean Hillier, was unsure of the amount made from the raffle this year but said it was definitely a couple thousand dollars. \nThe event also featured food, music by several local bands and a car smash. Hillier said the fraternity purchased a car for a low price, and for a few dollars anyone could hit it with a sledgehammer.\nThe fraternity, along with its sorority partner Kappa Delta, has been selling tickets since the beginning of the school year. The contestants who participate in the event are drawn by raffle.\n"We usually have 25 in the contest," junior and Delta Upsilon President Josh Grossman said. "When there are three or four people left, we have them stand on just one leg."\nFinder said contestants also could only stand with their noses, lips and chins touching the car and were required to keep their hands behind their back. \n"We started with 15 this year," said Hillier. Hillier said many of the chosen contestants thought it was an April Fools' Day joke when they called to inform them their names were drawn. \nThe contest started at 6 p.m. Friday, and at 5 p.m. Saturday, there were still seven people standing strong. The contestants each received a 15-minute break every six hours, but onlookers could quickly see a few people were willing to do anything for the prize. Finder said in a previous year, someone rigged up an elaborate system for going to the bathroom, which included a tube and a bottle. \n"People will do anything for it," Finder said.\nKappa Delta sophomore Andrea Crawford worked the 2 to 5 a.m. shift Saturday. \n"I think it was one of the hardest times for them to get through," Crawford said of her shift. "It was absolutely freezing, and there were no bands playing. It was dead silent. I think everyone was dragging a little then."\n-- Contact staff writer Cecilia Wolford at cwolford@indiana.edu.