Fun and Games

Throngs of students gathered Wednesday on the main quad at Cal State Northridge, where they paired up and proceeded to beat each other about the head and body.

It was all in good fun, however.

The beatings, rendered mostly harmless by helmets and padded sticks, were administered in the joust-a-bout competition, one of more than 20 activities offered to students as part the Sports Illustrated Campus Fest, a two-day promotional event featuring unusual athletic competitions and free giveaways by some of the country’s biggest corporations.

“The whole idea is to bring Fortune 500 companies and university students together for the first time,” said Larry Hess, who coordinated the event for MarketSource, a New Jersey-based company that stages similar events at campuses around the country.

“It’s all in the spirit of fun. The students have a good time and it’s a good study-breaker,” Hess said.

Besides the jousting--in which two students swung padded sticks in an attempt to knock the other off a raised circular platform--sumo wrestling, a bungee-run and obstacle course, and a milk-mustache competition--were among the activities offered.

“I like to see this kind of stuff on campus,” student said Randy Foley. “It’s something to take your mind off schoolwork and just have fun.”

In the sumo event, students donned enormous, padded outfits and black wigs, giving them the appearance of the 300-pound Japanese wrestlers. The object was to body-slam one’s opponent out of the ring.

“I have my break right now and this is a great way to spend it,” said Michelle Castro, as she extricated herself from the costume. “It’s a great way to get out your aggressions for school.”

Another bizarre attraction was the human bowling ball event in which students folded themselves into a fetal posture to get inside an orange, ball-shaped metal cage. Two assistants then rolled the cage at five “pins,” which were representations of Reese’s Nutrageous candy bars.

Looking wobbly, Karla Young emerged from the cage with a broad grin.

“Whew,” she said, “That was fun. I’m going over to try the sumo wrestling next.”