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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Surgery, sing-alongs and a

screaming gorilla made this year’s Banana Splittin’ competition a

memorable part of a long-standing homecoming tradition at Ashland

University.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“People really invested some

energy into it and made it a good event,” said C.J. Harkness,

director of minority student services and judicial affairs.

Harkness was the evening’s emcee for the second year in a

row.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Sept. 29 was the 28th Annual

Banana Splittin’ competition and a large crowd converged on

Founders’ Lawn and College Avenue, closed for the

festivities.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>There is no overall winner of

Banana Splittin’, but if there was, the audience’s vote would have

been for the College of Nursing’s creative eating methods, which

won first place for the Most Creative Eating Style

contest.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“The College of Nursing was

nothing like I’ve ever seen in 12 years,” Harkness said.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Cat Geletka, director of

residence life and one of the Banana Splittin’ judges,

agreed.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“For five years I have never seen

a perfect score,” she said, but the College of Nursing achieved one

with their creative eating methods: banana split

surgery.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>With College of Nursing Director

of Student Development Angela Hopkins lying on the table as the

patient, the team of nursing faculty prepared to

operate.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“I felt cold, but all of my

sterile drapery kept me protected,” Hopkins said, noting with a

laugh that she was the only one who wasn’t a nurse.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“They talk in a foreign language,

these nurses,” she added.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>With tongue depressors,

anesthesia masks, syringes, a scalpel in the form of a kitchen

knife and IV bags dripping syrup, the nurses went after their

victim – a banana tumor.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“We opened the patient’s banana

split stomach, we removed the tumor, tasted it, and put it back,”

Faye Grund, dean of the college of nursing, said. When the team was

asked how the tumor tasted, it was the patient who responded:

“Delicious!”

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The team called themselves the

“Surgical Sweet” and they were a hit with their sense of creativity

and humor.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“To see them cut loose that way

was fun,” Geletka said. Freshman Kirsten Logan described them as

“the most peppy and unique” team.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The runner-ups for Most Creative

Eating Style were members of the AU Marching Band, who pulled off

the challenge of eating and marching at the same time. Third place

went to the Honors Program, who used giant serving spoons to fling

the banana splits into an even bigger bright green

funnel.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The second portion of the contest

focused not on creativity but speed. The Fastest Eaters contest

looks for the team who can gobble down their banana split faster

than anyone else. “Technical difficulties” delayed the contest,

according to emcee Harkness.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Harkness sang the school’s alma

mater to pass the time while competitors bounced up and down,

leaned in close to strategize or waved at friends in the

audience.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“Are you ready?” shouted junior

Jake Southwick, in a fuzzy gorilla suit. “Let’s get ready to eat

bananas!”

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“This is out of control,”

Harkness commentated, laughing, as the competitors hastily dug into

their banana splits. Cheeks puffed out wide and eyes squeezed shut,

some contestants looked ready to spew half-digested banana all over

the table, but the fiercest competitors kept it together and

swallowed the sweet, syrup-soaked dessert. The gorilla danced

along, cheering everyone on and doing jumping jacks.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Drooling syrup from the corners

of their mouths, the first to finish hurried to raise their bowls

into the air, where gooey banana split remains rained back onto the

table.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>In the end, Campus Activities

Board snagged third place, Tau Kappa Epsilon came in second and the

AU Track and Field team won first place for the second year in a

row.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Senior Kurt Roberts, a member of

the track and field team, said the team essentially prepares for

the Banana Splittin’ competition the same way they would prepare

for a meet, with a little more of a focus on eating.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“We have a lot of weight

training,” he said. “We make sure we do a lot of lip service before

we get here.  Some of us

like to meditate.  Others

scream and listen to Cascada.”

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Roberts said he also perpares by

eating a big sub sandwich with chips and salsa, and drinking plenty

of water.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Others don’t put as much thought

into training.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“You just go for it,” junior and

teammate Ryan Loughney said. “You don’t really think about

it.”

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The night began on a more relaxed

note with the Best Costume contest. Before the eating commenced,

“Don’t Stop Believin’” – the Journey classic made popular by “Glee”

– blasted over the loudspeakers, inspiring a sing-along among

contestants and audience members alike.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The Best Costume contestants

displayed a wide variety of themes, including the swimming and

diving teams’ traditional swimsuit and Speedo ensembles.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The first-place winners were the

members of CAB, who made use of the saying, “You are what you eat.”

The CAB team formed a human banana split with three scoops of ice

cream, a boy in a banana suit lying on top of the table, whip

cream, a shiny silver spoon who couldn’t stop smiling and rainbow

sprinkles with a face-painted cherry on top.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The runners-up, the Rec Council,

dressed for success, donning uniforms and sporting

equipment.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The third-place team had no

reason to be sore losers, but they did appear to be sore, dressed

in sports jerseys and bandages covering some serious pretend

injuries. Ironically, these costumes were sported by the Athletic

Training Club, whose sense of humor the judges

appreciated.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“The Athletic Training was really

ironic and fun,” said Geletka.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Community Care also dressed how

they would for work, in a way. Each member’s costume represented

the team he or she leads, including the Adopt-a-Grandparent

co-leaders dressed as old women, a PAW co-leader dressed as a black

cat and a Hunger Team co-leader dressed as a box of Wheaties.

Although they didn’t place, their sign showed their school spirit

and poetic talents: “Volunteering is a good thing to do! It’s the

cherry on top of AU!”

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Another creative theme that

didn’t clinch a top-three ranking was the sisters of Phi Mu, who

drew on fictional characters and celebrities alike to form a clan

of “Famous Gingers,” including Ariel from “The Little Mermaid,”

Lucy Ricardo, Wilma Flintstone, Ginny Weasley and Daphne from

“Scooby Doo.”

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>The competition was fierce, but

it was all in good fun.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>Sophomore Ian Dively, a

competitor for the Religious Life team, had chocolate ice cream

smeared all over his shirt after engaging in the Most Creative

Eating Style contest, in which his team had communion with banana

as the wafer and toppings in the place of wine.

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“line-height: 120%; font-family:”>“Want a hug?” Dively asked a

friend, opening his arms wide to show off the ice cream

mess.

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“line-height: 115%; font-family:”>The night began with excitement

but it ended calmly, with music playing in the background and

circles of students sitting around Founders’ Lawn, talking,

laughing and eating banana splits, putting off homework for just a

little while longer.