Life will imitate literature this Friday as students gather around the “Cornucopia” on College Green to fight not only each other, but also world hunger.
Oxfam Ohio University is holding a The Hunger Games inspired water balloon fight in order to raise funds for the fledgling chapter of the national organization. Oxfam America is “international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger and injustice,” according to the group’s website.
This is the second year the OU chapter has been present on campus, and the aim is for the word to get out about the charity.
“There’s been a hard time getting [the chapter] off the ground,” said Oxfam OU president Elizabeth Held. “However, this year has been really strong for us. We’re trying to get the name out there.”
Cate Matthews, a sophomore studying photojournalism who is one of the organizers of the event, said the event was inspired by a partnership between the Harry Potter Alliance and Oxfam for a The Hunger Gamesinspired campaign named “Hunger is Not a Game.”
“We thought it would be a good idea to have a fun little Hunger Games,” Matthews said. “We settled on water balloons because it’s heading towards summer and it’s fun. The good thing is nobody gets killed in this version.”
With The Hunger Games having a growing cult following, opening box figures for the movie adaptation of the popular book series opening at an estimated $155 million, organizers hoped that the integration of the series would attract attention to the event.
“It’s going to bring people in because of the books and movies,” said Bek Wald, future president of Oxfam OU for 2012-13. “But when they figure out what it is they’re going to be like ‘oh, this is cool, let’s go!’”
Wald, a sophomore studying world religions, said the organization is aiming for a blend of fun events and educational programming to both attract attention and spread information about Oxfam’s goals.
“We need to do these fun events because it brings a lot of people out, especially during the summer,” Wald said. “But it’s also important to hold educational events, such as the discussion panel we held earlier this year with different professors knowledgeable about the topics.”
Participants will come to College Green wearing the colors that represent their “district” or team. There will then be approximately 800 water balloons as well as other water-based weapons that contestants will race to when the fight starts.
The $3 admission will go toward continuing programming for Oxfam OU. Held said that she hopes that in the future, once the club has gotten its start, the funds can then be directed back towards projects that are in line with the goals of the organization, like food banks or community gardens.
eb104010@ohiou.edu
