The UIndy Mathematics and Computer Science Club hosted a Pi Day celebration on March 20. In the name of charity, for $5, willing professors took whipped cream pies to the face, courtesy of their students.
The faculty donned ponchos and shower caps and were ushered in to sit on a trash bag covered chair and wait for the cold splat of whipped cream to the face.
A student throws a pie in math faculty Douglas Miller’s and Livia Hummel’s faces during the Pi Day event. (Photo by Ben Zefeng Zhang)
The professors who participated were Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Livia Hummel, Assistant Professor of Biology Dean Wiseman, Associate Professor of Physics and Earth Space Science Stephen Spicklemire, Associate Professor and Chair of Chemistry Katherine Stickney, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Leslie Gardner, Associate Professor of Biology Sandra Davis and Adjunct Faculty member in Mathematics Douglas Miller.
Senior actuarial science major Stacie Evans said that she had fun at the event while fulfilling a fantasy.
“This event was nice because I have always wanted to pie [Hummel], and I finally got a chance to do that,” Evans said.
The professors who participated also had good feelings about the event. Spicklemire escaped with only one pie to the face, and hoped that was enough.
“I would do this event again because it was fun and exciting. I hope my being pied was worth it,” Spicklemire said.
According to Math Club President and sophomore math and chemistry major Macanda Simpson, all proceeds from Pi Day will benefit MathCounts.
According to the organization’s official website, MathCounts is a nonprofit organization that strives to educate and engage middle school students with mathematics.
As of the 2012-2013 school year, 81 Indiana schools were registered with MathCounts, ranging from areas all over the state in areas such as Bedford, Laporte and even local Indianapolis schools, according to mathcounts.org.
Simpson said that the math club chose to donate the Pi Day proceeds to MathCounts because she believes the organization will positively affect the community.
“We were trying to find an organization that would be local, because we really want to see our impact locally,” Simpson said. “But this year, there wasn’t any [clear] local [options], so I did some more research and found MathCounts.”
In the future, Simpson said that the math club wants to have more involvement with the work MathCounts does in the community.
“The money will help fund the competitions, as well as the supplies for it,” Simpson said. “We are probably going to get a lot more involved with MathCounts, [and] probably will help proctor some competitions and other things like that.”
Simpson also said that she would like to continue Pi Day festivities annually in the future.
