If you saw students on Locust Walk last week sporting neon-pink hair, don't worry -- it's not the latest must-have fashion trend.
The students went pink for an on-campus tsunami fundraising event with a creative twist.
The event, held last Sunday at Stouffer College House, raised over $1,500 for the Red Cross. Staff and students pledged to do things out of their comfort zones in return for sponsorships.
Felicity Paxton, a Stouffer House faculty fellow and leader of the relief effort, wanted to organize a unique fundraiser.
"It's a long-term issue, and we have to come up with creative ways" to fund relief efforts, Paxton said.
Participants did everything from dying their hair pink to shaving their heads to eating pancakes upside down.
Engineering sophomore Mike Persson even pledged to let sponsors pay to wax his legs.
"I can't imagine what bikini waxing is like. ... [The leg waxing] hurt; I don't think I will ever do that again, ever," Persson said. "But it was worth the effort."
Other students opted for more public displays of their efforts. According to education graduate student Becky Powell, one person pledged to sing "I'm a Little Tea Pot" on Locust Walk in his underwear.
"But I don't know if he's done it yet," she said.
First-year Wharton doctoral student Michael Housman was one of the eight people who dyed their hair hot pink.
Housman said that walking around Huntsman Hall with his new hair color was "strange and amusing. People look at you weird; if you make eye contact they look away. It's just bizarre."
Housman said he is proud of his pink hair and the $150 it raised.
Powell went pink as well. Her hair resembles "Elmo's fur, but a very fuchsia-pink version of that. It's 1990's pink," Powell said.
For Paxton, stepping out of her comfort zone involved a more political pledge.
The die-hard liberal wore an NRA cap, a large "I love Bush" flag as a cape and T-shirts plastered with right-wing bumper stickers.
She said that she was able to raise $180 "because my students and colleagues know that is way worse than anything I could do to my hair."
One of Paxton's main objectives was to combat the donation fatigue that she feels is common with worldwide issues.
She wanted to devise a fund-raiser that didn't force everyone to spend money.
"If people were feeling broke and wanted to [help], they could get sponsors, not just sponsor," Paxton said.
