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RAGE 103.7 Host Punkin Chunkin for College Radio Day

Using a homemade trebuchet, the RAGE staff held their own Punkin Chunkin contest on campus.
Samantha Rinehart
/
KRCU
Using a homemade trebuchet, the RAGE staff held their own Punkin Chunkin contest on campus.

Southeast Missouri State University’s student radio station RAGE 103.7 celebrated national College Radio Day with a unique holiday. Using a homemade trebuchet, the RAGE staff held their own Punkin Chunkin contest on campus.

Luke Lukefar is the technician for RAGE studios. Inspired by a high school engineering project, Lukefar built the trebuchet himself. Originally used to catapult missiles in medieval warfare, these machines are now engineered for more recreational use.

While Lukefar was excited about the machine’s success, he says this event is about more than pumpkin projectiles.

“When people walk through campus and see a fifteen foot trebuchet with pumpkins flying through the air, they’re going to get interested,” Lukefar said. “So we have people here that can tell them all about college radio and maybe eventually get them to come and do college radio. So we’re just trying to get our word out.”

 

Students brought their decorated pumpkins to be photographed for their “Best Lookin’ Pumpkin” Contest before launching them across the field.

Kayla and Chala Doss brought their “Halloween monster and video game” themed pumpkin to the event.

Kayla says they were among the few teams to experience some technical difficulties with their toss.

“We heard about it and was told about it and just decided, okay, we can decorate a pumpkin.  We picked out a round one and I kind of expected him to want to fly, but he obviously didn’t want to,” Kayla said.

One of the farthest launched pumpkins traveled over one hundred feet.

One of the farthest launched pumpkins at the event traveled over one hundred feet.

Members of the RAGE staff say they hope to make Punkin Chunkin an annual event.

The winners of the decorating contest will be announced Thursday on theRAGE facebook page.

Samantha Rinehart was a student reporter for KRCU from 2012-2013.