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‘Hot Ones’ challenge heats up Newman

By Ana Zeikidze, Staff Writer

Student Activities Director Joshua Prilliman wants to spice things up on campus, and he’s doing it with a monthly hot wings challenge that he hopes will help students build community and have a great time.

The first challenge happened last month and was inspired by the well-known YouTube series "Hot Ones." It had guests eat chicken wings dripping with hot sauce while responding to funny questions about their organizations or themselves. Prilliman said he came up with the idea after doing a similar challenge with his family for fun.

“We wanted to kick off the year by showing that we were serious about being active,” Prilliman said. “We wanted to have fun, embarrass ourselves a little, and get people involved.”

Members of the Campus Activities Board participated in the first challenge, and it created such a sensation that other organizations on campus are now lined up to take part, Prilliman said. The Hispanic American Leadership Organization will be the focus of the next hot wings challenge, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Alumni Center. HALO members will talk about their cultural backgrounds while handling the heat of some extra-spicy sauces. Faculty and students are welcome to watch, Prilliman said. 

The first challenge, a video of which was posted on The Newman Bond podcast’s YouTube page, began as a fun experiment but soon turned into much more, Prilliman said.

“By the time we wrapped up the first video, we had a bunch of people hanging around, curious about how the sauces tasted,” he said. “The next week, people were already asking if they could be part of it.”

The sauces used on the "Hot Ones" series are also used in the challenge. The heat levels range from 1,500 Scoville units to 2.6 million Scoville units, which is very hot. Even though the heat might seem dangerous, Prilliman said, safety is taken seriously. 

“Some people want to eat the whole wing. Others just take a bite, and that’s totally fine,” he said.

Prilliman said he’s already working on more installments of the challenge. A softball vs. baseball matchup is scheduled for January, and he’s in discussions with the Student Government Association about holding a challenge in November. The spicy challenge has even drawn attention from Newman's tennis team, Prilliman said. 

“This whole thing started as something silly and fun, but it’s really turned into something more intentional and meaningful,” Prilliman said. “We’re building community, having a good time, and learning something new about each other. 

Prilliman said that others on campus who want to take part in a future challenge should contact him by email (Prilliman@newmanu.edu) or in his Student Life office.

PHOTO: Screenshot, Newman University