By Bethany Grov?
A small crowd gathered in Red Square on November 1. In the center stood a chicken, the star of the day, thanks to a creative fundraiser sponsored by Alpha Nu Omega.
It was a cold day but hopes were high as the chicken was placed on a large bingo board painted onto a tarp, which consisted of one hundred numbers.
The chicken paced. The students cheered. And within five seconds, the chicken left its dropping on square number four, which was purchased by Lindsay Fairchild.
Alpha Nu Omega, the host of the event, gave Fairchild $50 for winning.
“I assure you the chicken is never hurt; we do believe in kindness towards animals,” said Alpha Nu Omega member, Lindsay Olsh, when asked about animal activists who may have frowned upon this event. And, despite some rumors, the chicken was never dropped and laxatives were not used, according to Erika Wawzyanick, fundraiser chair of Alpha Nu Omega.
The chicken drop is originally from Ambergris Dave, an island in Belize. This event is held every Wednesday at the Spindrift Hotel according to Dr. Herbert Smith, professor of Political Science and International Studies. Smith leads the January term to Belize every year.
The question of whether or not anyone can predict how long it takes before a chicken might poop is best answered by watching the chicken’s movements carefully, according to a local veternarian.
“Watch for that beginning of motion,” advised John Kable, D.V.M. at Airpark Animal Hospital. “When a chicken moves it’s shit or git time.”
“There is a shared opening between the urinary tract and the digestive tract,” Kable explained. “The digestive process involves things coming from both directions to one place. When the chicken moves, it’s time.”
Bodwin Simons said, “At least it’s not dog fighting,” about this first time event.
The Chicken Drop mirrors another fundraising tradition in Carroll County and other rural areas across the nation: Cowpie Bingo.
Sometimes called Barnyard Bingo, this fundraiser lures folks around a large grid, usually in a field, to wait and hope that a cow will drop a pie in a square that bears their number. The person who purchased the number where the pie drops wins a cash prize. In Lineboro, a little town approximately 25 minutes from McDaniel Bingo, Barnyard Bingo brings winners as much as $500 and the local fire department, which sponsors theh event, as much as $10,000, according to a recent story in Carroll Magazine.
The Chicken Drop has yet to build such momentum, but the event shared the same “have-fun” feel.
A few days before the event, Olsh said, “Alpha Nu Omega is doing it as one of our sorority fundraisers, and if it goes as well as we hope, it could even become one of our annual ones for the fall, like Mr. McDaniel in the spring.”
