Spring Breaking Traditions

The guy with the dirty diaper is going to Daytona.

Wednesday afternoon, the Student Association held its second annual Diaper Competition in the Student Union, offering a free spring break trip to Florida with Break Away Tours for the male and female who received the loudest applause.

After he appeared on stage wearing a diaper with a brown stain on the backside and the words "oops," written above, senior biology major Jason Canon won the trip.

Wendy Casey, a freshman engineering physics major, won the trip for the women's category by default, as she was the only female participant.

Initially the event was postponed while SA representatives tried to convince more students to volunteer for the event, adding a $60 gift certificate to a tanning salon as part of the prize.

MC Tekniq from Toronto encouraged onlookers to don a diaper with pride.

"Come on, people, only three people have signed up - that gives you a good chance of winning," he shouted into the microphone.

A small crowd waited patiently despite the 30-minute delay.

"I heard it was three girls, so I'm waiting on that," said Durval Morgan, a junior exercise science major.

Brian Watson, a freshman undecided major, was the first student to take the stage, wearing a diaper decorated with smiley face stickers, brown boots, and American flag stickers on his bare back. A party favor dangled from his lips while he danced to the hip-hop music.

Casey performed next. Her diaper had the words "kiss this" painted on the rear, and her body was covered with star stickers.

Sophomore Elizabeth Salzman and senior Tanya Hefets, both SA staff members, took the stage after Casey, wearing diapers over their street clothes.

Canon was the final contestant to fire up the crowd. He displayed the "oops" markings on the back of his diaper and stomped to the beat as if he were a member of the cast of Riverdance.

It was tough to tell which male contestant had the louder cheering section, so DJ Tekniq demanded a dance-off.

When the music started, Watson gyrated like a male stripper. At Tekniq's prompting, Canon did the same, and the crowd made its vote clear.

While the students in the diaper contest took advantage of a creative way to finance a trip to Daytona, other students prefer more conventional methods.

Meredith Chapman, a sophomore communication major, said she plans on taking the SA sponsored Daytona Beach trip during spring break with her roommate and her best friend.

"There's a bus you take down there," she said. "It's $ 329 and you go for six days. I'll probably just relax on the beach and not make anything too strenuous."

Hallie Schneider, a junior speech and hearing major, said she plans to spend a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico this March. In six words she summed up what she and her four roommates think spring break is all about.

"Tan all day, drink all night," she said. "I hear there is great party scene down there. I'm excited."

Students from the Campus Crusade for Christ are headed to Daytona Beach during the break - not to party - but to spread the gospel.

According to Daniel Quirk, a senior psychology major and Crusade member, the trip is taken annually and is very affordable.

"We're going to be on the beaches and in the hotels telling people what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus," Quirk said.

Katie Scollin, a graduate assistant, has organized a humanitarian trip to Washington, D.C. for the break.