Aggie Bull Run draws freshman crowd

By Sawyer Hemsley

JCOM 1130/Section 2

Freshman students flocked to the Taggart Student Center roundabout to participate in and watch the Aggie Bull Run chariot races Wednesday. The university’s presidential cabinet hosted the race.

The Aggie Bull Run was a traditional event in the past. It was restored this year to the Utah State University campus and has been incorporated as part of A-week, during which university students come together each year to give seven days of service and celebration.

“A large amount of freshmen watched rather than actively participated in the event,” said Justina Larie, USU freshman and member of the USU presidential cabinet. “We as a cabinet were just happy to have them there cheering on their fellow classmates.”

Freshmen along with upperclassmen lined the haystacks that had been hauled into the roundabout to act as barriers, making up the chariot course.

Students participating in the races were allowed to make their own chariots out of any type of material they desired.

Each team was timed as they sprinted through the course. There were a variety of teams that either pulled or pushed their chariots.

“All of the teams were very creative with their chariot designs,” said Lizie Allen, a USU sophomore. “It was easy to tell that many of them had spent a lot of time preparing for the race in hopes to win. It even gave me the desire to prepare a team possibly to participate next year.”

Doug Fiefia, student body president, made the decision with his presidential cabinet early Wednesday afternoon to carry out the event amid cold temperatures and snowy weather conditions.

“Even thought it was cold, I was happy I was able to witness the Aggie Bull Run,” Larie said. “I had never heard of something like this before and it was fun to plan and execute this event.”

Larie has hopes the event will continue to grow next year and increase interest among not only freshmen, but upperclassmen as well.

“I have never seen such a big group of freshmen at an A-week event,” Allen said. “It was especially odd to see people participating because of the cold weather.”

To find out more about the Aggie Bull Run and A-week events, please visit www.usu.edu/aweek.