Beta Psi Continues Long-Standing University and Community Tradition

Submitted by Megan Czerniejewski, Beta Psi 2010

In 1974, the first ever Great Cardboard Boat Regatta transpired on Southern Illinois University's campus lake.  Professor Richard Archer, a former professor of freshman Art and Design, decided to challenge his students to build boats out of cardboard as a final exam.  Buckminster Fuller, a distinguished professor at the time, also had a hand in furthering the event by encouraging his students to "do the most with the least" by building useable boats out of nothing more than corrugated cardboard held together by tape and/or one-part epoxies.  The original regatta flourished through the years, but saw a decline in participation in the early 2000s as it lost some of its funding.  In 2010, Brother Derek Burnet and the Beta Psi chapter took over the, then floundering, regatta. 

This year marked the 42nd annual and the 6th event hosted by Beta Psi.  Thirty-six boats raced across campus lake in four different divisions: oar-powered boats, mechanically powered boats, instant boats, and youth boats.  Nearly 1,500 onlookers crowded the lakeshore to cheer them on or to make the course more challenging by launching water balloons at the racers.  Despite what many think, this is not a fundraiser for the chapter - all of the proceeds go toward furthering the event in the future.  This event is fun and educational for all, making Beta Psi's months of hard work and planning worthwhile.  We do it for the community, for Southern Illinois University and for science.

No matter the age of the participants or what kind of boat they built, everyone has to solve the same problem - how do you make corrugated cardboard float with people on it?  it all comes down to Archimedes's principle, which states that the upward buoyant force exerted on an object immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of fluid the body displaces.  Some people meticulously work the calculations while others leave it up to chance.  Regardless, it encourages participants to develop problem-solving skills.  We also set up a science-outreach demonstration tent and invited bystanders to learn about different scientific properties of water.  This event provides a unique opportunity for Beta Psi to collaborate with the local community and Southern Illinois University to keep up a long-standing tradition while furthering the second object along the way.