Rutgers Spirit wins 18th annual Homecoming Bed Races

On Thursday, the Rutgers University Programming Association hosted its 18th annual Charity Bed Races behind the College Avenue Student Center.

The Rutgers tradition started back in 2008 with just 9 beds and was created with the goal of each team donating requested supplies to New Brunswick Public Schools.  

This year, 50 student groups competed for the $750 prize for their organization. 

Participating teams decorated their beds with unique themes ranging from famous films to fast food… to race each other on Sicard Street.

WRSU’s own Sofia Velez, Tanner Stein, Kalina Taylor, Tony Palumbo, and Sean O’Grady ran for our Vegas-themed bed, and voiced their confidence after their first race. Velez, the runner on WRSU’s bed said, “I think we’re winning speed, I think we’re winning costumes, I think we’re winning everything. We put the W in WRSU.” 

RUPA Organizer Jaiden Barber spoke about their goal of fostering a positive community for Rutgers Students. “We made sure we had an event that fostered a sense of community… the main thing was the students and getting everybody together in one place and having fun,” said Barber.

Alina Chen, RUSA student body president, echoed Barber’s sentiment. “The significance of the bed races is honestly about community,” she said. “I think Rutgers really prides itself on the amount of student involvement we have… we’re able to have a friendly competition while still supporting one another and I think that’s really beautiful.”

WRSU spoke with RUPA’s director of Tradition and Community, Rhea Gandhi, who shared insight on some of the work that went into planning the bed races. Gandhi highlighted much of the behind the scenes work of the Programming Association, including arranging for the New Brunswick Police Department to aid in closing down Sicard Street, along with paramedics to be on standby in case of any injury.

“Organizing the run-of-show of the event was another important event, like placing a lot of RUPALs [members of RUPA] at different stations so that they know what they’re supposed to do and figure out different roles,” said Gandhi.

Alongside the spectacle of students running up Sicard Street for the grand prize, teams also had the opportunity to win Best Theme, Best Costumes, or Most Charitable by donating the most school supplies. 

One of the Judges, Mayor of New Brunswick James Cahill, shared what he looks for in a winning bed. “In the bed design, we were looking for things that really fit their theme well, particularly if the theme matched what the organization is all about,” Cahill said.

Before the race began, WRSU spoke to groups about the theme of their bed and their odds in the race. 

Gift of Life, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bone marrow donation, described their baby-themed bed with a crib design and a rider dressed as a newborn. “We figured bed-time would be a good theme, we have a baby here,” their runner said, referencing the night time event. “We’re in our nightgowns, we have our teddy bear, I’m ready to go to bed, you know, bed races, it felt proper.”

The Doghouse, a group of friends not affiliated with any organization, told us about their canine-themed bed. “It’s basically just a dog house and then inside we have our pet dog [a member in a costume] in there,” said a member of the group. “We have all the toys out, the grass and the dog house sign as well.”

The first-generation student union sported a Snoopy-themed bed at the race, and shared their appreciation for the teamwork required to decorate a bed. “We came together as a team, and it was really fun for us to decorate together and get to know more about each other through the process,” said a member.

Race spectators shared their reasons as to why they attended, and which team they came to support. 

Rutgers Junior Colin Howell shared his excitement to see a winner emerge and his appreciation for the event. “I’m so excited to see someone win, everyone’s got great themes this year,” said Howell. “It’s an amazing thing to see, and it’s really great to see everyone come together and form a beautiful collaborative thing with the school.”

Rutgers Students Alexandra, Mya, and Rhea attended to show their support for the American Society of Civil Engineers, yelling “AC sweep” when asked about their outlook for the race.

Teams faced off with each other in a mad dash down Sicard Street in groups of two. Even if a team wins their race, qualifying to the next round is not guaranteed, with only the top 8 fastest times making it to the quarterfinals. 

After judges tallied up the times, WRSU spoke to some of the teams who made the cut. 

Young Life, a nonprofit Christian organization, which placed with the eighth-fastest time, shared their shock and confidence when they heard the news. “We heard our name number eight and we were excited. Now it’s time to show them why we should have been higher, and it’s time to win this thing.”

The Bengali Student Association placed 6th and shared their excitement about qualifying as first-time competitors. “We’ve never done this before and we’ve been a club at Rutgers for so many years,” the competitor told us. “So we’re really happy that we got to the first eight.”

Agriculture fraternity Alpha Zeta said they felt good about their previous race and were ready for the finals. “We felt excellent about our race, we are so excited to take the win.”

When asked if they would win the race, a member responded “100%, we wouldn’t be Alpha Zeta if we didn’t.”

The playoffs switched to classic bracket-style races, which narrowed the competition down to four teams for the semi-finals.  

WRSU spoke to The Doghouse, who shared their feelings about making it to the top 4. “Tired, excited, a bit of everything, but we just want to win it,” said one member of the group. Another member added, “we came second in the quarterfinal standings and we just beat the first place team so we’re feeling pretty hype.”

The final four put their all into the intense race, but only two groups could advance.  

Adrenaline was running high as finalists Rutgers Spirit and Alpha Zeta geared up for the final race.

Last Year’s Winners, Rutgers Spirit, broke down their team roster before the finals. “We’re running the same two [runners] in the front from last year,” they said. “We got a new guy in the front, we got Michael Jackson on the bed supporting us, it’s been a great night.” When asked about their strategy, the team simply said “win.”

The other finalist team, Alpha Zeta, also shared their mindset prior to their last race. “We’re feeling incredible, we knew this was going to happen,” said one member. The group said they were “excited, ready and prepared,” for the finals.

After a neck-and-neck race, Rutgers Spirit achieved their second win in a row, with Alpha Zeta coming in close second and Doghouse in third.

WRSU spoke to all three teams post-race.

Doghouse shared their feelings about placing top three and their plans for the prize money. “I love third but I love first a little more,” said one member. “Next year, we’re coming back, we’re training hard and we’re going to win first.“ The group plans to donate to a dog shelter in the New Brunswick area.

Alpha Zeta felt pride in placing 2nd, claiming to be the best fraternity of the night. “We feel great about our performance tonight… if you think about it, we’re the best fraternity of the night,” said the rider. “Last year, we didn’t even make it to the semi-finals, so this was a big step up.”

Spirit shared how they felt after raising the first place trophy. When asked about their repeat win, one of the runners said “it’s a great time, 2 for 2, you can’t complain.” Another member voiced their praise for the bed races, saying “this was such an amazing event to happen and I’m so grateful and thankful for it.”

The bed races were able to donate a grand total of 5,392 fidget toys and 1,765 coloring books to Roosevelt Elementary, a local school.

Story by Nina Davis and Noah Choi.

Rahil Chatterjee, Evy Baek, Talia Gentles, Noa Hackmeyer, Mayra Rolon, and Abby Schaefer contributed to this report.