Feathers will be flying on the South Oval as students duke it out in the 7th Annual World’s Largest Pillow Fight. But there is little hope for an actual world record.
The BBC set the current record with 3,706 participants in 2008. Katie Hart, the event’s coordinator, said only 1,000 students are expected to attend the event today at 6 p.m.
Another problem with trying to set a record is that there will not be a representative from Guinness World Records to verify the record attempt.
Hart, a fourth-year in health sciences, said the Ohio State chapter of Mortar Board, a senior honor society that hosts the fight, looked into getting a Guinness verifier to the event, but the cost was too large.
In addition to a fee for a Guinness representative to oversee the event, record-pursuers must pay travel and accommodation costs of verifiers, according to the Guinness website.
Hart said she still hopes students come out in record numbers because instilling Buckeye pride will make the event a success.
The pillow fight also serves as an opportunity to raise money and awareness for pancreatic cancer in honor of the late William H. Hall, founder of the World’s Largest Pillow Fight at OSU and former vice president of student organizations. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2005.
Students are expected to bring their own pillows to the fight, which will last for one minute. Afterward, there will be food, music and a raffle. Tickets for the raffle will cost $2 for five and can be purchased with a BuckID. The proceeds from the raffle will go to PanCAN, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, a non-profit organization that provides support for families and patients battling pancreatic cancer.
