Celebrating the Unusual Department of Mathematics honors Pi Day with events and activities on campus The mathematics department transformed March 14 into a celebration for the mathematical constant pi, 3.14. Using their talents in various projects, the students united for a charitable cause by throwing pies at faculty members' faces, decorating sidewalks with digits of pi and selling T-shirts in the student center, gaining the attention of the student body. Senior math major and graphic design minor Ashley Paarlberg designed and sold Pi Day T-shirts for $10 each, a project which raised the highest amount of money for the overall fund raiser. The T-shirts came in different colors, with a picture of a chalkboard puzzle and figures that held up "3.14" on the front and Ecclesiastes 3:14 written on the back. "When Dr. Debbie Duke, the main leader of Pi Day, asked me if I would design the T-shirts and encouraged me to get on board with the project, I thought it would be a great opportunity to use my talents," Paarlberg said. Before the event, the math department had a group of students stay out after curfew to write the digits of pi on the sidewalk. After working for almost an hour and thirty minutes, the students had copied the first 2,518 digits of pi. The numbers trailed from the Pryor-England Science Center, continued to the Benson Auditorium, went past the Heritage, circled around the front lawn, passed the girls' dorms and wrapped up by the lily pond outside of the Administration Auditorium. On Pi Day chocolate, pumpkin and pecan pies made by senior math major and Spanish and missions minor Kelcey Simpson were given away in the lobby of the science building. Simpson planned to one day open a bakery and thought combining baked goods with the celebration of pi would allow her to use her talents to help her department. "It was really special for me to see the math department be unified, for all of us to have a cause to get together to work together," Simpson said. "We all talked about our different talents and how we could use them to raise the money. I got to make a bunch of pies, and it was all a really cool experience." At 3:14p.m., the highlight of the day arrived as runners lined themselves up behind the starting line of a 3.14-kilometer race, surrounded by Moon Pie boxes lining the trail. The winner of race, senior Payton Parsons, won a pie to take home. After the race, several of the faculty members, including Chancellor Clifton Ganus Jr. and Department of Communication Chair Dr. Jack Shock, volunteered to be hit in the face with pies for a $5 donation. According to senior Daniel Schliffka, "it was all for charity." The proceeds from the event gave an African student a scholarship to study math at the George Benson Christian College in Zambia. "Our work with Pi Day seemed kind of small in the grand scheme of things, but it was great to know we made such a difference in someone's life," Paarlberg said. After the event, Simpson visited Duke's office and read a thank-you letter from the student who received the scholarship. Simpson said it was amazing to see how her department unified and made such a large difference, all through celebrating the large mathematical constant of pi. Kory Howard/Mackenzie Lee To celebrate Pi Day, seniors Daniel Schliffka and Ashley Paarlberg run a 5K equivalent to the distance of 3.14 miles. The Pi K race began at 3:14p.m. on March 14, and the winner of the race, senior Payton Parsons, received a pie to take home. Ashe/ Parsons est1935 Department of Biology 3 majors I 12 faculty I 34 courses est.1932 Department of Math 2 majors I 9 faculty I 28 courses esl1936 Department of Chemistry 3 majors I 8 faculty I 21 courses Biology, Chemistry & Math 1101
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