A backfiring trebuchet caught the attention of student and faculty during this year’s annual Pumpkin Launch, held Nov. 13 at Tegeler Field. Although participants said faulty catapults are not new to the launch, which is hosted by Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, & Technology, the sight of a pumpkin hurdling through a window on the third floor of Ritter Hall could not be ignored.
The pumpkin, launched by a trebuchet built by the Park’s Racing Team, broke clear through a window and into the office of Amy Wright in the foreign language department as it shattered glass and smashed onto the floor below her desk.
Maintenance workers and officers from the Department of Public Safety and Security Services entered the room to remove what pieces of glass and pumpkin they could, and to seal the window. Except for a broken window, nothing in Wright’s office was damaged.
While perturbed about a pumpkin flying through one of her office windows, Kathleen Llewellyn, Interim Chair of the Department of Foreign Language, said that she was glad the event was held on a Saturday when there was no one in the office.
“It was just an accident,” Llewellyn said. “It wasn’t a good idea to send a pumpkin through the window, but I’m glad no one was in the building.” Llewellyn also said she has nothing incendiary to say against engineering students.
Although Wright could not be reached for comment, a post-it note was discovered outside her door with the words “Fight Back, Amy.” Attached to the door handle was a miniature pumpkin.
The Pumpkin Launch is an annual event traditionally held by Parks engineering and physics students in Tegeler Field. Students research their own designs and build the catapults, which are usually made out of wood and are built in the participant’s own homes or in the McDonnell Douglas workshop. However, launching must be done mechanically, without compressed air or chemicals, Jessica Rozycki, coordinator of the event, said.
“Smashing pumpkins for the greater good is kind of our motto we’re going by,” Rozycki said.
Although past events were mainly for the amusement of the students and onlookers, Rozycki said this year’s event required participants to donate canned goods to charity.
“We kind of changed our perspective.,” Rozycki said. “But this year we decided since it was such a great turnout in the past, we would try to help everybody else and make it a charity event.”
Upon seeing a pumpkin fly through a window, Rozycki said that she felt shocked, but saw humor in the situation.
“I couldn’t help but laugh,” Rozycki said. “That was a great shot. They get 10 points for accuracy right there.”
The catapult teams consisted of Park’s Racing Team, The Society of Physics Students, an off campus engineering fraternity and Peter Zylka, a senior computer engineering major who entered the competition as “The Highlander, the Human Sling Shot, and the Man Cannon.”
Zylka said that the event was held annually mainly to promote interest in engineering.
“It’s a physical application that other people can see,” Zylka said. “It’s good advertising, and not to mention it’s fun to do.”
Zylka said the Park’s Racing Team consisted mainly of mechanical engineers, who were in turn competing against physics students and aerospace engineers.
Except for several pumpkins and a window, no one was hurt in the making of this event, and with the inclusion of charity, smashing pumpkins may indeed be for the greater good.
