Aaron Berkowitz – News Writer
The sun shined bright for Beta Mu Sigma’s 9th annual Jail N’ Bail fundraising event last week. Campus police and the fraternity sold warrants for 5 dollars and cards to prevent you from being placed in campus jail for 20 dollars. All proceeds went towards the CT Special Olympics, which will be hosted by the university this year.
Students and staff alike were seen pleading with peers passing by from inside the jail cell, located in the middle of the academic quad, to help raise the money needed for their individual bails.
Ki’Lon “DJ Prodigy” Stoddart, freshman music major, said he was asking everyone he knew to help make his $75 bail.
“I really thought I was being arrested because the cops were in uniform but once they told me I wasn’t I was just trying to figure out how I’m going to get out of here,” said Stoddart.
He also said the fun creative nature behind the event helps keep up the school’s spirit.
Stephen Mccusker, sophomore biochemistry major, said he was shocked to see campus police knocking at his door early Wednesday morning and spent over an hour trying to scrape bail together.
“I was sleeping and one of the cops was banging on the door and when I open it the first thing he did was tell me they had an arrest warrant for me. I was like wait, what’s going on here? It took me a solid 10 seconds to realize that I wasn’t really being arrested,” said Mccusker.
His bail was set at $100.
The academic quad has once again become the hangout spot for students to enjoy the glimpses of spring weather in between their classes. SCSU Police Officer, Sergio Nunez, said he believes there was a correlation between the nice weather and the amount of people who made donations this year.
“The weather today was a blessing, over the last few years we’ve helped with this event it’s been either cloudy or raining. Since its nice out, more people are outside and get to see what’s going on,” said Nunez.
He also said that even though the Jail and Bail event was only a one-day event, donations towards could still be made afterwards by contacting a member of Beta Mu Sigma fraternity.
Nolan Rourke, sophomore public health major and philanthropy chair holder of Beta Mu Sigma, said he saw students having fun making phone calls to their parents and friends who were in the dorms to come bail them out.
Rourke also said the interaction with the police force is good for students.
“Everyone wants to be on their good side and they offered a lot of help to us putting this event together. This event wouldn’t have been possible without all of the police officers who volunteered their time to come out here and support such a great cause.”
The Special Olympics website said the movement aims to transform lives by promoting the respect for people of all abilities, on and off the playing field. Encouraging a healthy lifestyle, athletic and social skills and improving self-esteem are also at the core of the Special Olympics agenda.
According to Rourke, his fraternity aimed to at least match the amount of donations collected the previous year, which was $8,000. He also said being a part of this experience was especially rewarding because their hard work went towards a great cause and it was a way for the campus to bond.
“It was great to see friends and people you’ve seen around campus trying to convince random people to help bail them out,” said Rourke. “Its always a great time when everyone can come outside to enjoy the weather while smiling.“
Photo Credit: Derek Torrellas