On Wednesday, April 20, West Chester University students gathered together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Banana Day, hosted by the Student Activities Council.
WCU student Rodolfo P. Tellez conceived the idea of Banana Day during his senior year in 1996. On the first Banana Day, 3,000 bananas were distributed throughout the campus, and over 50 hours of community service were completed.
The following year, another student, Robert Perino, took over planning and organizing Banana Day. Banana Day then took a hiatus until 1999.
Four years later, Banana Day had provided the WCU community with over 28,500 bananas and 500 shirts, free of charge. Through planning and organizing the event, students had completed over 300 hours of community service.
“Banana Day was so much fun,” said freshman Katherine Mash. “I didn’t even know Banana Day was a thing until this past week, and even then, I had no idea how big of a deal it was on campus. Banana Day took over the entire campus, from academic to residential quad, and it was amazing.”
Students played games, answered trivia questions, and took part in scavenger hunts in attempts to win a banana day shirt. This year’s shirt was blue with a banana on it that read “It’s split,” with the numbers two and zero on it to signify the 20th anniversary.
Banana Day volunteers handed out bananas all over campus, and students could play games for a chance to win a T-shirt at locations on campus. The academic quad included banana games, trivia, relay races and many more activities, giving students many opportunities to win shirts.
Games included corn hole, banana tosses, ninja, and many more. Banana Day spread all the way to South Campus, where students also had the opportunity to take part in games and win prizes.
“Most of the events I see on campus stay up on North Campus,” said Mash. “It was cool being given the opportunity to go down to South Campus to participate in more games. I’ve never had an excuse to go down there, and I had a lot of fun taking part in the games down there.”
Students who didn’t want to participate in the games had another opportunity to win a shirt. If students completed the scavenger hunt, they were able to retrieve their shirt from Sykes.
While Banana Day took place in the afternoon, the evening was reserved for Banana Night. Banana Night, hosted by the Purple and Gold Club, had food and a live DJ. In order to obtain a free Banana Night shirt, students had to complete a photo scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt could be completed in teams of two, and the first 100 students who completed the scavenger hunt got a free Banana Night T-shirt.
This year, the shirt was black with a banana on it that read “Banana Night.”
This year, Banana Day featured Dia Doce, a local West Chester bakery, who gave away free cupcakes in the afternoon.
“I really enjoyed Banana Day this year,” said sophomore Kimberly Cougle. “I didn’t get a chance to go last year, so I didn’t understand what all of the hype was. This year, I got the chance to take part in the festivities. I took part in the trivia, won a free shirt, and got a free cupcake. I finally understand all of the hype.”
The official date of Banana Day is the third Wednesday of every April and officially stars at 11:50 a.m. since that is the time that bananas are distributed campus wide. The tradition has remained since 1999, and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping.
“I think it’s important that West Chester University maintains a tradition like this one,” said Cougle. “It’s such a fun event, and it really encourages a sense of community throughout the campus. It’s unique to this university, which is awesome. I hope this tradition never fades.”
Kinjal Shah is a second-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at KS826308@wcupa.edu.