Ginger students at Pitt \u201csham-rocked\u201d Semple last Saturday as the Ginger Run took over Oakland for the annual \u201cPitt Patty\u2019s\u201d block party.<\/p>\n
Organized by RedCup Pitt<\/a> this year, the Ginger Run began at 1:30 p.m. on Semple Street and finished quickly, thanks to the high speed of Pitt\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n When it came time for the run, Pitt\u2019s 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 \u201cginger\u201d while making conversation with new red heads.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u2019s run.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d Osborne said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While she didn\u2019t make any regrettable mistakes last year, Osborne did see some runners get \u201ctrampled\u201d and encouraged new runners to keep moving forward.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely don\u2019t turn around, and don\u2019t stop. You have to go all the way to the end,\u201d Osborne said.<\/p>\n While waiting in line, descriptions of last year\u2019s catastrophes bounced around in conversation \u2014 waves of redheads collapsing to grab their escaped vapes and drunken pileups on Semple\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n The race began when onlookers cleared a more narrow path than last year\u2019s track. Phones were in the runners\u2019 faces as they ran through the fresh air cleared in Semple\u2019s 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\u2019s pileup<\/a> and the rush to find friends before the police horses began to clear Semple.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s run occurred in the shadow of the Semple Street roof collapse,<\/a> an event that injured dozens and kept most students off of roofs for future festivities.\u00a0<\/p>\n This year, messages from the University<\/a> such as, \u201cDid you know that it\u2019s illegal to be on a rooftop in the City of Pittsburgh? Stay grounded, stay safe and make good choices!\u201d filled students\u2019 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\u2019s collapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI actually think people might adhere to those warnings just because it was actually really dangerous, and so, yeah, it was pure chaos,\u201d Berg said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Devika Thadani, a junior microbiology major, missed the ginger run last year but was hoping for everyone\u2019s safety at this year\u2019s event. She believes an event like the roof collapse can be prevented by taking care of one another and staying aware.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think we grow and we learn. Sometimes we forget that some of these houses here in Pittsburgh are extremely old, yeah, like they\u2019re extremely old. I mean, the pillars and the support are not as strong as [they used] to be,\u201d Thadani said. \u201cSo what would have maybe not been that bad, or that crazy of a catastrophe, became as dangerous as quickly as it was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Pitt<\/a> and Pittsburgh City police<\/a> hovered in the area \u2014 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 \u201cfun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt 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,\u201d Frye said.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cthe culture\u201d of St. Patrick\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like St. Paddy\u2019s 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\u2019ve been drinking since 10 a.m. and just having fun drinking a Borg and letting loose a little bit. It\u2019s a good time,\u201d Frye said.<\/p>\n Frye drank from a borg<\/a> \u2014 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 \u201cMr. Borgachov, tear down this wall,\u201d and \u201cCanada\u2019s Shane Hollanborg,\u201d in reference to hit television show \u201cHeated Rivalry.\u201d\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019s this community that keeps them coming back.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 a member of a community that gathers to watch the redheads run.<\/p>\n