Image courtesy of Celeste Carmona

Kaitlyn Pena (11) prepares to throw a pie at Coach Tagaloa.

On Friday, October 13th, Link Crew organized an event in the quad where students had the opportunity to pie some of their favorite Segerstrom staff members. Students had to buy pies, which were three to five dollars each and got to say a few words to the staff member before pieing them. Overall, there was a great turnout and all of the Jaguars had fun, whether they were taking part in the activity or watching on the side.

In preparation for this event, Link Crew thought about what would draw in students, and they knew that pieing teachers would be a hit. Brianna Ruiz (12), Link Crew’s Commissioner of Accounting, explains that students participate in the event because it offers a unique opportunity to pie their teachers with no punishment.

“I think people are drawn to our event because it’s a unique opportunity to pie their favorite teachers and not many students think teachers or staff members would volunteer for something like this,” explains Ruiz.

All in all, the event drew in large crowds during both lunches and was very successful. While some students were not participating themselves, they were spectating and cheering on their friends. One thing that stood out to Link Crew President Jesse Torres (12), were the words that the students said to their teachers before pieing them. 

“One thing that a student said that stood out to me was that they said they loved the teacher and the way that they taught. I just find it amazing that even though they were throwing shaving cream into their favorite teacher’s face, they did it with good intentions and they didn’t have anything against them,” said Torres.

There were a total of fourteen staff members who volunteered to get pied, but the most popular were Mr. Bandy and Coach Tagaloa. Some students pied them as payback for a poor grade, heavy workload, or intense conditioning in practice, while others pied them because they have a fun-loving relationship with them. 

Ruiz explains why she believes coaches were pied more than other staff members: “Our coaches are hard on their athletes to push them to be their best. I think athletes will take this opportunity to get a little payback for all the conditioning they’ve done so far.”

Besides our coaches, Mr. Bandy was a very popular volunteer at the event. Torres explains why he believes Mr. Bandy was one of the main targets for the students. 

“The teacher that got pied the most was Mr. Bandy and I think it was because he volunteered and the kids see him as a cool teacher,” explains Torres.

The event raised a lot of money for the Link Crew program and will be used for supplies for future freshmen. Not only did it raise money, but it also created a bond between students and staff members. This was an enjoyable experience for everyone involved, and it will most definitely be repeated in the future.

“I would love to do this fundraiser again with the teachers volunteering and to give the students more opportunities to be a part of this amazing event,” added Torres.