Eight brothers from Beta Theta Pi Fraternity will take turns bouncing in an inflatable bouncy castle on the Arts Quad on September 1 in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest team marathon on a bouncy castle.
The event also aims to raise funds to fight against sexual violence, according to a fraternity press release.
The event, called “Betas Bounce Against Sexual Violence,” will begin at 6 p.m., and the brothers will try to break the current record of 43 hours of bouncing.
“Both brotherhood and philanthropy events are central to any fraternity,” said David Navadeh ’19, chapter treasurer and event organizer. “But they don’t often overlap. While we want to grow stronger as a brotherhood by breaking a Guinness World Record together, we also want to benefit our community by donating proceeds from our record attempt.”
Record rules require that at least one member bounces at all times, no member bounce for more than four hours at one time, the entire event must be videotaped, and timekeepers and witnesses are present throughout the duration of the bouncing. Five minutes of rest for every continuously completed hour of bouncing is also permitted.
“It’s been a goal of mine to be a Guinness World Record holder, and I couldn’t think of a better way to attempt a record than with some of my closest friends,” Navadeh said.
The brothers started talking about the idea in February, and the application for the event was approved by both the university and the national chapter in late July.
“Since then we’ve been planning the logistics of the event so we can collect as many donations as possible,” Navadeh said.
The brothers invite members of the school community to bounce with the brothers for $2. Along with the proceeds from snacks and drinks sold at the event, funds will be donated to the Advocacy Center, which fights sexual violence and abuse.
“While only the team of eight brothers can actually be Guinness World Record holders, we encourage the entire Cornell community to support this cause by joining us for even just a few minutes,” Navadeh said.
The team of brothers has spent a lot of time planning “the best method for trading off bouncing shifts, but we know this will get tiring,” Navadeh said.
“We’ll be armed with snacks and energy drinks to keep us alert, but we certainly don’t underestimate how strenuous this will be,” he added.
The main goal of the event for the brothers is to define their time as Betas.
“Each class of brothers wants to leave their own legacy, and we want to be remembered for engaging both our brotherhood and community in new ways,” Navadeh said.