Wintery festivities spice up Rose

The smell of peppers, beans, and burger was powerful in the Union Lobby on Tuesday as Rose-Hulman’s annual chili cook-off fired up as part of this year’s Winter Fun Fest. Eleven different teams competed in their culinary skills for a prize of two hundred dollars. Participants and judges consisted of students, faculty, and staff. Samples were given out readily, with the more popular soups being cleaned out within about an hour. Mathew Fouts, Rose student, comments on a crowd favorite, “I would choose Voltmer as the winner; it’s like my grandma’s chili.”

Dave Voltmer, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Emeritus, the oldest contestant, says that “white lightning” was a recipe that was derived from Nashville, Tennessee. “It has beef, corn, smoked barbeque chicken, white northern beans, green peppers and jalapenos. You have to have the jalapenos,” Voltmer states, as students returned for second and even third samples. Voltmer ended up in third place in the chili cook-off, with reserve recognition to Jarod Markley’s “Red Rose Chili”. First place went to the “Iron Chefs,” Aramark employees Ryan Rogers, Pat Kelley, and Mandy English, for the dish “Quick Fire Chili.” The “Iron Chefs” will donate their two hundred dollar prize to the GUAM fundraiser, which will aid the Vigo County Sheriff’s Donation Fund.

The chili cook-off was not the only event provided by the Student Activities Board; there was an assortment of crafts, an ice cream treat station, warm cookies and hot cocoa, and bingo. The “snow storms”, RHIT’s form of a blizzard, attracted a line of about thirty students prior to opening.

The Kahn room was also filled with students, as well as younger children, who all used their creativity to construct coasters, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. There was a large variety of materials available.

Also in the Kahn room, bingo game was hosted with a chance to win a plethora of prizes. A long table filled with stuffed animals, t-shirts, double bubble gum, and tortilla chip bags were just some of the items that were won. Overall, the Winter Fun Fest drew about one hundred students.