By
Shana Heiser
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Annual whitewashing brings paint fights, chaos
White paint flew through the air and buckets tumbled down the hill this weekend as UA freshmen painted the "A" on "A" Mountain white - no change from it's previous color.
Busses transported freshmen from the fountain in front of Old Main up to Sentinel Peak for the annual whitewashing 9 a.m. Saturday.
University of Arizona students mixed paint with water in buckets, then they climbed the mountain. Almost no one was saved from flying paint.
"You gotta stand back there or you'll be dirty," co-organizer Melissa Fulton said. "It's pretty systematic, the guys always go to the top, the girls always hit the bottom. That kind of stuff never changes. We make them climb."
Before catching the bus, Fulton, a communication senior, taught sleepy freshmen "Bear Down Arizona."
Participants were primarily members of the greek system, but were also drawn from residence halls, said Fulton.
"We put fliers and posters in the dorms, up around campus, in the classrooms and we put an ad in the Wildcat," she said.
Supplies were donated by local companies, from the paint to the water truck, so the expenses didn't run too high.
"We tried to get as much stuff donated as we could, by whoever could provide the services," said Matt Imherr, a business senior.
Students were screaming and flinging buckets down the mountain as crowds formed at the top and bottom of the mountain and everywhere in between. Not everyone shared the enthusiasm at the early hour, though.
"I don't really want to dump paint all over the place and get myself all painted up," said Nicholette Larsen, an undeclared freshman. "It's chaotic."
Some participants expected to take a paintbrush to the mountain and were surprised that painting utensils weren't used.
"I was not expecting to dump paint," Larsen said. "I just don't want to get up there; I had a rough night."
Fulton and co-organizer Becky Hart have participated in the whitewashing for all three years they've attended the UA, and Fulton said "It pretty much goes the same every year."
After about an hour of throwing paint on the mountain and on each other, students were ready to rinse off and head back to the UA campus.
"They'll walk down the hill; that way they can dry off," Fulton said. "They rinse off at the water truck, then they walk down and catch their buses and go back."
