An Ohio State student organization will ship out a videotape of a Thursday night pillow fight to Guinness World Records to see if the feather-filled brawl on the South Oval was the biggest in the world.
To break the record set by the BBC, the event’s organizers will need to prove that more than 3,706 participated in the bash. That record was set in 2008.
However, according to estimates from organizers, the seventh annual pillow fight at OSU will likely fall far short of the mark. Planners of the event — hosted by the OSU chapter of Mortar Board, a senior honor society — expected about 1,000 students to participate.
But even if the fluffy fight isn’t the biggest in the world, organizers hope to raise awareness about pancreatic cancer. The man who founded the pillow fight, William H. Hall, who was also vice president of student organizations at OSU, died of the disease in 2005.
“When you’re diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, you usually have three months to live,” said Stephanie Bennett, the event coordinator for the Columbus affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. “What we’re doing is we’re fighting for awareness … so (patients) have hope when they’re diagnosed.”
Mortar Board held a raffle before the pillow fight that offered prizes, with proceeds going to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
And, of course, the event was also an opportunity for students to blow off steam after the first week of classes.
“You’re hitting people with a soft object and getting out your pent-up aggression about your classes,” said Hannah Converse, a first-year in early childhood education. “And at the same time, you’re all doing it together.”
