Raffle brings students to new heights
Many people would pay hundreds of dollars to risk their lives by jumping thousands of feet from a speeding airplane. Starting this week, one lucky student will pay just $2 to have this privilege.
The reorganized and rejuvenated Skydiving Club is sponsoring a raffle whose grand prize is a $210 gift certificate to Skydive Orange, an organization which sponsors over 10,000 free-fall parachute jumps every year. The gift certificate covers the price of a person's first tandem jump.
"What we're trying to do is to get people to know about the club and have the chance for them to win a skydive," said third-year College student Jen Sweeder, a skydiving club member.
Sweeder explained that the University's Skydiving Club is under new leadership with President Dan Glanz, and he has encouraged many members who have not previously jumped to go this weekend.
The money raised from the raffle "will help to lessen the cost of our first jump. But in the long run, it will help us to buy our own skydiving rig," Sweeder said.
Ned Wulin, a Skydive Orange employee, explained that the business plans to give the University club a discount in their jumps.
"Historically we've had quite a few University students jumping, but recently it's slackened off," he said.
Wulin said, however, that several students do frequent the Orange, Va., skydiving establishment, which is in the process of providing incentives for students to jump.
"We're working on putting a program together right now so that students get a little bit of a better deal," Wulin said.
Meanwhile, many students are enthusiastic about their first jump.
"I hope it's as exciting as I want it to be because I've wanted to do it for a very long time," Sweeder said.
Sweeder is planning to sell tickets with the Skydiving Club on the Lawn starting this week and hopes that the raffle will not only raise money but also encourage club membership.
Skydiving, according to Wulin, appeals to "a pretty diverse group. It's for people who want to have fun, for anyone looking for something unique."
At least some people think the opportunity to win outweighs the $2 risk.
"It's 14,000 feet in the air, and I think that's worth a couple bucks," Sweeder said.
Odds compiled by Julia Salasky
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