Calvin Students Ready to Jump the Pond

February 15, 2005 == MEDIA ADVISORY

The seventh annual Cold Knight Club will be inducted at Calvin College on
Thursday, February 17, 2005, beginning at 6 p.m. The Cold Knight Club is part
of a week of festivities at Calvin for Homecoming 2005.

And what exactly is the Cold Knight Club?

Simply put: a group of students willing to put on a bathing suit in February
and submerge themselves in Calvin's "Sem Pond," a picturesque body of water on
campus that lies between President Gaylen Byker's house and the Calvin
Theological Seminary.

Last year 114 students took the plunge, bringing to over 300 the number of
students who have jumped since the event began in 1999. Some 100 students or
more are expected to brave the chilly waters again this year.

During the day, Calvin professor Randy Buursma (appropriately pronounced BRRR
SMA) will dig a hole in the ice. At about 5:50 p.m. students will come to the
Sem Pond to register (all of the students who jump get a big beach towel that
says Calvin College, Homecoming 2005, Cold Knight Club).

And then they start jumping, one by one, into the frigid waters.

This year there will be an added twist to the annual tradition - the first
presentation of the "Golden Towel Award."

Any student who jumps all four years while at Calvin will get a gold towel
with "Cold Knight Club - Golden Towel Award" embroidered on it. Their names
and years they jumped will also be embroidered on a huge gold towel which will
remain displayed in the Alumni Office at Calvin College.

In the past six years, only two students have jumped four years.

Matt Rip accomplished the feat in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. His sister will
accept his golden towel for him since he is currently a Peace Corp volunteer in
Cameroon. Meanwhile Raichael Bishop Nelson hopes to jump for the fifth time
this year, adding 2005 to prior jumps in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004! And
seniors Keri Aalderink and Don Buist plan to jump for the fourth time in four
years.

The club began in 1999 as a way to get current Calvin students more involved
in Homecoming. The idea originated with Buursma.

Contact Buursma at 616-526-6074 or Barb Hoogeboom at 616-526-6835

For pics of last year's event see
http://www.calvin.edu/homecoming/2004/coldknights/

-end-
Received on Tue Feb 15 10:19:18 2005