Jell-O is far from the favorite dessert at the College. Crowds of people never clamor around the trays of Jell-O in Valentine the way they devour ice cream sundaes or Rice Krispie treats. But last night, the servery entrance was clogged with people looking down from the mezzanine, no less, to Amherst's finest square off in a Jell-O eating contest of epic proportions. To the winner went a $50 gift certificate to Judie's. Second and third place got smaller prizes, but many entrants went home empty handed, though with full stomachs.

A dozen or so students faced a simple task: eat as much of three bowls of Jell-O-one lime, one cherry and one orange-as you can in 30 seconds, without using your hands. The daring students plunged their faces into the gelatinous mass and inhaled.

As with any competition, practice makes perfect and Carlyn Lamia '03 is a veteran at these types of events, as she participated in last year's blueberry pie eating contest. "I just walked in right after practice and saw the signs so I signed up," she said. "It was kind of easier with the Jell-O-less messy than pie."

Lamia felt confident with her performance at the table, but had to settle for a second place finish. "I thought I was doing pretty well," she said. "When time was called, I looked up and I thought I had won, but this one really skinny girl had eaten all three bowls."

"It was fun," said Gail Zuckerwise '06E, who walked away from the contest victorious. "But I think we could have handled more than three bowls in 30 seconds."

Zuckerwise said that she intends to put her prize to use this coming week.

Despite her second place finish, Lamia enjoyed the contest. "Of course I would do it again," she said.

All singing, all eating

This past Thursday evening, students filled their stomachs with sushi and rolls and sang to their hearts' content to karaoke songs at Northampton's Ichiban Japanese and Korean restaurant. Though not everyone had a chance to be in the spotlight, the students enjoyed the performances by their peers.

"I watched my friend and a bunch of freshmen singing 'So Happy Together,'" said Sebastian Cruz-Schiavone '03. "It was the most hilarious thing! I could not stop laughing."

"I thought that girl who was singing the Korean song was really really good," added Janice Asamoto '06. Her voice was awesome and she knew all the words-in Korean!"

"'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' was pretty good. I didn't get to sing, but I didn't really want to. I am vocally challenged," said Cathy Cheung '03

The sushi and rolls at Ichiban lived up to the expectations of the students. "The most memorable part of the evening was when we were told, 'Everyone limit yourself to 10 pieces,'" Cheung recalled. "It was so funny because 10 pieces is so much!"

"Unagi was my favorite sushi. I do not know why. I just like it. I do not eat it often, so it was a nice change of pace," said Cruz-Schiavone.

Karaoke and sushi night was an evening of bonding and getting to know friends in an environment away from reading and studying. "It was nice to get off campus to have fun with my friends," said Amanda Parkison '03.

"Eating sushi was fun, but I went for the people," said Cruz-Schiavone, "that and to get away from putting together my thesis presentation."

"Eating sushi is always a bonding experience!" said Asamoto. "It was so nice to eat some real Asian food, and even nicer to do it with all my friends."