‘A-O-Pie-in-the-Face’

Desserts were flying in front of the Mountainlair at West Virginia University Wednesday as some students took pies in the face during a juvenile arthritis fundraiser.

Members of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority raised money for juvenile arthritis research by charging students $1 to pie an AOII member during the "A-O-Pie-in-the-Face" event. Juvenile arthritis is the national philanthropic mission of all AOII chapters.

Hilah Zia, philanthropy chair of AOII, said this is the event's fourth year. Zia said the group raised $197 for their cause.

"The sisters of Alpha Omicron Pi are very passionate about helping out in the community," she said. "Even if we only raise $200, that's $200 more than the cause had before."

Zia said the event helps make a statement on campus to raise awareness for juvenile arthritis.

"Not a lot of people know about juvenile arthritis, and this is a way for people to become more aware of the disease," she said.

Brian Dunn, a sophomore criminology major, participated in the event. Dunn said it was fun to pie one of the sorority sisters in the face and raise money for children at the same time.

Jaime Fortino, senior sports management major and AOII sister, said getting pied in the face tasted good, but having to clean it is not as fun.

"It's important that we do this because a lot of kids are affected by this," she said. "Juvenile arthritis is the nation's leading cause of disability in children."

Fortino said the fraternities that buy the most pies earn points toward winning AOII's philanthropy.

Jeremy Mull, junior journalism major, said he participated in the event because raising money for the children was important to him. He said he purchased 20 pies throughout the day.

Ariel Wasserstrom, a sophomore psychology major and AOII sister, said she got pied in the face too many times to count on Wednesday.

"I do this because it's for the kids with juvenile arthritis," she said. "This is an issue that is spreading more and more, and we have sisters who are affected by this, so this cause is close to all of our hearts."

Zia said "A-O-Pie-in-the-Face" is one of five days of fundraising for juvenile arthritis. Alpha Omicron Pi is having a dodgeball tournament with 20 teams comprised of different fraternities on campus on Sunday, Zia said.

Today and Friday, AOII is having coin collections in the Mountainlair.