Pies to the face, letters to the brave

Published by May 9, 2018 | By Jennifer Padilla

Students, professors, and the College of Liberal Arts Dean got pies thrown at their faces outside of the Miron Student Center on Thursday.

“It’s the end of the semester; I know students will be aiming at me,” said Dr. Christopher Lynch, communications professor. “I told my students in class, ‘If you want to get your aggravations out, I’ll see you at 1 o’clock.’”

Emily O’rourke, communication student and lead editor of Kean TV, said it’s “really fun” to see a professor that gave you a D get “pied” in the face. “How many times do you get to see that?” she said.

Communications Professor Gina Gili said it’s a “Nice thing to do”— referring to Operation Gratitude, a non-profit project to send letters of appreciation to soldiers and community helpers, and care packages for military families.

With a pie-throwing function, Professor Gili, along with Kean TV and PRSSA, aimed to gather 300 letters and donations towards an Amazon wishlist. Other communication professors joined the good cause— Dr. Christopher Lynch, Dr. Jack Sargent, and Professor Allison Edgley— along with the dean of the college of liberal arts, Jonathan Mercantini.

The two-hour event led to 80 compositions addressed to “Brave ones” and “Heroes” that read: “…I respect you and everything you have done to make sure I sleep safe at night…”; “… I am more than grateful to know that someone protects me, cares and is selfless…”; “… It’s hard to imagine all you have given; the hardships and danger you endure for us…”; “I truly appreciate you from the bottom of my heart…”

A total of 150 letters have been written to operation gratitude and $100 were raised at the event. Letters and donations will be accepted until the end of the month and can be given to Professor Gili at CAS 424.

“It was worth it,” said communication major Joshua Rosario, who donated $20 to pie Mercantini. “I can brag about pieing the dean.”

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