Who would be crazy enough to splash through Lake Mary Nell on a day that would make a snowman shiver? Easy. Elon students in search of gift cards to local shops and restaurants. The annual Polar Bear Plunge took place on campus Jan. 22, 2008, with nearly three dozen people braving the frigid air for a chance at winning prizes.
The event was co-sponsored by the Resident Student Association and the North Area Area Council. According to organizers, the noontime air temperature – just under the freezing mark – marked the coldest day in the five-year history of the event.
The Polar Bear Plunge is the one day of the year where students can take to the water of Lake Mary Nell. Swimming or wading along the shore is otherwise prohibited. The plunge is free for students.
“It brings a lot of the campus together,” said sophomore Nicki Veater, a Polar Bear Plunge co-organizer with RSA. “And it’s good to do over Winter Term because not a lot is happening and not as many people are on campus.”
Ice coated the far reaches of Lake Mary Nell by the time the first wave of participants ran into the water seeking purple and green and pink plastic boats, which represented prizes to merchants like Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and Mimi’s Café.
Jon Chuk, a senior communications major from York, Pa., was in the first group of students to hit the water. It was his third appearance at a plunge. “They used to have something like this at home in Pennsylvania, and I never had a chance to do it,” Chuk said. “I came down here and they had it. It’s exhilarating and in good fun.”
Matt Steible, a senior history education major, threw himself into the water for only the second time since coming to Elon. He signed up for the event two years ago as a sophomore, but according to Steible, the 2008 competition was quite a bit different.
“It was a lot colder, both the air temperature and the water temperature,” he said seconds after emerging from the water with a purple boat in his mouth. “I was pretty determined to stay out there until it popped to the surface. No matter what, I was getting that boat.”
