 "Photo:")
 "Photo:")
Sugar, chalk and a stuffed toy brought seven Phi Delta Theta pledges together for the first on-campus panda bake sale Thursday in front of Siskiyou Hall.
The pledges planned on raising more than $250 to donate to the World Wildlife Fund, which would use the money to help save pandas, junior Tony Gorelick said.
"Pandas are a cuddly animal we can help," Gorelick said. "There are a lot of cancer fundraisers, but we wanted to bring up something different."
Freshman Talia Kemp stopped to buy a chocolate chip cookie from the table, which was covered in pictures of giant pandas, after a pledge with a stuffed toy panda asked her if she wanted to personally affect the life of a panda.
"He is pretty persuasive," Kemp said. "I'm not a frequent bake-saler, but it's for a good cause."
WWF spends 83 percent of its proceeds on worldwide conservation activities, according to its Web site.
There are approximately 1,600 giant pandas in the wild, and conservation of habitat is the main priority to help save them.
Junior pledge Grayson Scogin thought of the panda fundraiser as an effort to show how hard he can work for his brotherhood, he said.
"It's a crazy idea I came up with," he said of the notion of targeting women, who make up more than half the students on campus. "I figured, 'Why not aim for the bigger market?'"
The panda-themed fundraiser, aimed at women, deterred some male students, such as senior Chase Chevallier.
"It's a lost cause," Chevallier said. "This is just an excuse to waste time between partying and whatever else they do."
The fraternity volunteered at the Jesus Center earlier this month for its first organized event, Gorelick said.
Pledges are admitted to Phi Delta Theta based on dedication and effort, Gorelick said. The fundraising and volunteering won't stop until they get admitted.
"Today it's pandas, tomorrow we could even do tigers," he said.
Kelly O'Connor can be reached at koconnor@theorion.com
Be the first to comment on this article!