If you’re a WVU student or alumnus, you know how catching the Personal Rapid Transit can be.
Waiting at the platform then squeezing your way onto the car, hopefully getting a coveted seat before it takes off down the tracks.
A PRT car is reported to carry 16 people comfortably, but in the annual PRT cram during Mountaineer Week Monday, students were hoping to break from the norm.
The PRT cram is a yearly tradition that’s been going on since 1971, said Sonja Wilson, the Mountaineer Week advisor. Alongside the longstanding tradition, Mountaineer Week also has other yearly happenings like the Beard Shaving Competition.
Wilson said the committee and students who organize Mountaineer Week try to keep the student events fresh. This year the theme of Mountaineer Week is Appalachian Foods, showcasing food from Appalachian culture.
“A lot of the students know its Mountaineer Week when they come by and see the kettle corn and funnel cake, but we are having a program on canning, which might seem weird but we’ve done canning in West Virginia. To survive, you had a garden and you canned in the summer to have food in the winter,” she said.
There was also the Country Vittles Buffet and Pepperoni Roll Competition. This year there will also be a tailgate before Thursday’s game at the Erickson Alumni Center. WVU takes on Baylor at 7 p.m. at Milan Puskar Stadium.
The PRT cram continues in the true spirit of Mountaineer Week. It was started to encourage more school spirit on campus, and Wilson said she believes it does that.
“I think it’s fun because it brings everybody together,” she said.
Years ago, Wilson said the cram teams were Greek organizations. Now any student organization can participate.
The record still stands at 97. In 2000, Chi Omega won those bragging rights and Wilson said she doesn’t know if it will ever be beaten.
Information on Monday’s winner was not available in time for this report.
Mountaineer Week wouldn’t be Mountaineer Week without Trevor Kiess, the WVU mascot. Kiess was on every cram Monday, helping student organizations and taking selfies with fans.
“It’s just great to represent West Virginia and our Appalachian culture and really just show the pride and spirit that we have here at WVU,” he said.
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