Every year at midnight on Oct. 31, the P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society releases its annual list of carved pumpkin recipients, who are chosen due to their outstanding contributions to the University community.
The names of the students recognized on the list this year are fourth-year College students Jeffrey Taylor Fisher, Tristan Kishonis, Amanda Selsky, Lauren Stroupe, Sarah Ilyas, Rachel Lee and Rebecca Ramdass, fourth-year Engineering student Benjamin Gilbert, fourth-year Batten student Adam Ghazzawi and fourth-year Commerce student Alexander Wolz.
Pumpkins were also given to David Edmunds, Global Development Studies track director, Daniel Player, assistant professor of Public Policy, and Wayne Cozart, vice president of development and director of the Jefferson Trust.
The P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society, which was started in 1967, has committed itself to promoting valuable members of the student body and faculty who may be relatively unrecognized for their achievements and commitment to the University. The society's motto is, "When The Corn Is In The Bin, The Gourds Are On The Vine."
Cozart, an authority on secret societies at the University, said the names on the list are not necessarily those who are active leaders.
“Just in observing who is selected over time … they tend to be names that are recognizable but not always active student leaders,” Cozart said.
Ten pumpkins were distributed to students, three were given to members of faculty or staff, and the remaining three pumpkins were placed on Carr’s Hill, at Monticello and on the steps of the Rotunda.
Though the P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society’s primary operation is the night of Halloween, it has also been known to give out pumpkin pies in recognition of certain special individuals at other times during the year.
The society historically has presented a rotten gourd to someone doing a disservice to the University community, but discontinued this practice in the 1990s, Cozart said. This practice was revived in 2012, when the society presented a rotten gourd to former Board of Visitors member Helen Dragas after the ousting of President Teresa Sullivan.
This gourd was known as the “E.B. Pendleton award” after that name was found inscribed on a window pane in New Cabell Hall.
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