Professors agree to be ‘pied’

Professors can help push students toward excellence, but sometimes being pushed toward excellence can be frustrating. A few business school students will get the chance to let those frustrations out while supporting a good cause.\nThe Civic Leadership Development organization is holding its first “Pie a Professor” event to raise money for Bowl for Kids’ Sake, which is a fundraiser for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Civic Leadership Development is a community service organization based in the Kelley School of Business that currently has more than 800 registered members, said sophomore and Service Project Director for Civic Leadership Development Val Agnew.\nSeven professors in the Kelley School as well as Dean Dan Smith have agreed to be pied in the face by a student from one of their classes Thursday. Students can contribute by giving general donations and by purchasing a raffle ticket for the chance to be the students who gets to pie their professor. Students who buy a raffle ticket also have a chance to win a temporary A parking pass.\n“We took a situation where we could have raised the bare minimum, but reached beyond anyone’s expectations and came up with a whole event,” Agnew said.\n“Pie a Professor” will be from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Kelley School of Business, Room 111. This year’s Bowl for Kids’ Sake is rock ‘n’ roll themed. To keep with that theme, Civic Leadership Development members will be dressed up in rock ‘n’ roll costumes, including anything from poodle skirts to ’80s metal-head outfits, Agnew said. The games “Dance, Dance Revolution” and “Guitar Hero” will be available in the room for students to play.\n“We want to make it as fun and as oriented toward what we’re fundraising for as possible,” Agnew said.\nLast year, Civic Leadership Development raised more than $2,000 for Bowl for Kids’ Sake, said senior and President of Civic Leadership Development Jess Phillips. This year the organization is hoping to raise $2,500, which is more then they have ever raised before.\n“The impact this money has on the community is tremendous,” Phillips said.\nAll the money goes to pair a “big” brother or sister with a “little” brother or sister for one year, which costs between $500 and $600, Phillips said.\nProfessor Mikel Tiller has set a goal of $400 for students in his eight-week basic accounting skills class, and has promised to match his students’ donations up to that goal.\nTiller said it would have been hard for him to say no to an organization as important as Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Tiller was initially worried about being pied with a fruit pie, but is pleased that whipped cream pies will be used.\nTiller said his students have a bit of extra motivation.\n“The actual pie in the face event will happen about three hours before I give my final exam,” Tiller said.\nTiller said his students have some catching up to do to be sure they hit their goal because of the snow day last week.\nThere is a board in the business school with the names of the professors participating in the event and different dollar amounts, but Tiller said he does not want to see it.\n“I quickly looked away because the money is not what this competition is about,” Tiller said.\nStudents are encouraged to come whether they’re in the business school or not, Phillips said.\n“It will be a hilarious and entertaining couple of hours if nothing else,” Phillips said.