Ginger students at Pitt “sham-rocked” Semple last Saturday as the Ginger Run took over Oakland for the annual “Pitt Patty’s” block party.
Organized by RedCup Pitt this year, the Ginger Run began at 1:30 p.m. on Semple Street and finished quickly, thanks to the high speed of Pitt’s gingers and red-headed wig-wearers. A small number of Pitt students gathered on the street earlier in the day, but before long, those few clovers grew into a field of shamrocks as the street overflowed with Pitt students.
When it came time for the run, Pitt’s fastest redheads dropped their borgs and slowly gathered at the end of Semple Street until a cluster of orange began to form. Students made a gaggle of clementine hair while waiting for the race to begin, chanting “ginger” while making conversation with new red heads.
Grace Osborne, a junior in the school of public health who identifies as a ginger, said she was looking forward to staying safe and having fun at this year’s run.
“It means a lot to me because I love being part of the ginger community, and I feel like this is our day to be recognized at Pitt,” Osborne said.
While she didn’t make any regrettable mistakes last year, Osborne did see some runners get “trampled” and encouraged new runners to keep moving forward.
“Definitely don’t turn around, and don’t stop. You have to go all the way to the end,” Osborne said.
While waiting in line, descriptions of last year’s catastrophes bounced around in conversation — waves of redheads collapsing to grab their escaped vapes and drunken pileups on Semple’s dirty pavement. Gingers gave tips to the like-headed individuals around them, telling one another to pick up their fallen if someone happens to stumble in front of them.
The race began when onlookers cleared a more narrow path than last year’s track. Phones were in the runners’ faces as they ran through the fresh air cleared in Semple’s dense crowd. Straight, wavy and curly hair trailed in the wind as feet pounded the ground to the beat of drunken cheers. Those lucky enough to be in front managed to avoid this year’s pileup and the rush to find friends before the police horses began to clear Semple.
Last year’s run occurred in the shadow of the Semple Street roof collapse, an event that injured dozens and kept most students off of roofs for future festivities.
This year, messages from the University such as, “Did you know that it’s illegal to be on a rooftop in the City of Pittsburgh? Stay grounded, stay safe and make good choices!” filled students’ inboxes. Julia Berg, a masters student studying nutrition and dietetics, lives on Semple Street and thinks many students want to avoid another situation like last year’s collapse.
“I actually think people might adhere to those warnings just because it was actually really dangerous, and so, yeah, it was pure chaos,” Berg said.
Devika Thadani, a junior microbiology major, missed the ginger run last year but was hoping for everyone’s safety at this year’s event. She believes an event like the roof collapse can be prevented by taking care of one another and staying aware.
“I think we grow and we learn. Sometimes we forget that some of these houses here in Pittsburgh are extremely old, yeah, like they’re extremely old. I mean, the pillars and the support are not as strong as [they used] to be,” Thadani said. “So what would have maybe not been that bad, or that crazy of a catastrophe, became as dangerous as quickly as it was.”
Pitt and Pittsburgh City police hovered in the area — a presence students were acutely aware of. Aleia Frye, a junior industrial engineering major, understood the need for police at the event despite students wanting to have “fun.”
“At the end of the day we still have to be safe and make sure that everything is under control. And so I understand that. But, you know, obviously, as a college student, it makes me a little nervous. It makes me a little nervous when I walk past them,” Frye said.
Officers at the event were handing out alcohol-related citations to students. Frye is 21 years old and chose to drink as a way of participating in “the culture” of St. Patrick’s Day.
“I feel like St. Paddy’s day is just a day where you kind of, like, let loose and be with all your friends and just have a good time. So I’ve been drinking since 10 a.m. and just having fun drinking a Borg and letting loose a little bit. It’s a good time,” Frye said.
Frye drank from a borg — a plastic bottle typically filled with alcohol and various mixers to create a colorful drink. Students gave their borgs a variety of names by writing them in Sharpie on the side of their receptacle, including “Mr. Borgachov, tear down this wall,” and “Canada’s Shane Hollanborg,” in reference to hit television show “Heated Rivalry.”
Last year, the Ginger Run brought the Pitt community together through the tragedy of the roof collapse. This year that same community came back out and squished together under the golden Irish sun, cheering on the redheads who chose to get their cardio done with a borg in hand. While the event can be stressful with police presence, warmer temperatures, potential housing cave-ins and the extreme lack of bathroom access, it’s this community that keeps them coming back.
No one knows who the next winningest ginger will be, but for now, many gingers feel happy to be a red speck in a sea of green — a member of a community that gathers to watch the redheads run.