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WATER BALLOONS
The Water Balloon Fight (1993-present)
Today the water balloon has become probably the most important part of Beer-Bike with the exception of the beer itself. Colleges prepare weeks in advance by getting students to fill up hundreds of balloons. Once these balloons are filled and in their barrels or trashcans, the water jacks commence. Since they first began with Will Rice in 1988, now every college has some sort of water jack leading up to Beer Bike. What's left of these balloons are loaded onto the trucks Saturday morning, and then the students let the balloons fly. Over the past couple of years, the fine system has been tightened and safety issues raised. Many students have reacted negatively towards what is happening. In a survey Rice students were asked about their parade attendance and if anything should be changed about the parade. One opinion was, "It's way too early in the morning." The negative sentiment was also echoed with, "I don't know, I've never gone to it." The subject of the fine system also came up as one student said, "[The officials] should be less picky about violations." Also said was, "The parade was a blast! The water balloons are great because it takes some effort (and stupidity) to get hurt, even when drunk." What every student and official understands is that with hundreds of water balloons flying, the chance of them getting hit is pretty good. What makes the officials mad are stories like this one from senior Brock Tautenhahn on his freshman parade experience: "I've only been at the parade once, my freshman year, and we racked up quite a few violations. I think everyone on my truck was aiming for the officials and security people with their water balloons." In our survey we also received several interesting and strange suggestions to make the parade better. One says, "No more St. Arnold, it sucks!" The student was referring to St. Arnold's beer, which has been the official beer sponsor for the past few years. Another student said, "They should fill the water balloons with shaving cream." Obviously that would be way too messy and would never happen. Perhaps the best and most outrageous suggestion comes from a male student who said, "We should include a 9th truck, with Hooters girls." Whether or not any of these changes occur, one thing is certain ‹ the water balloon and the parade have cemented themselves as permanent fixtures of the Beer-Bike tradition.
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