By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Staring at the piles of cardboard, Zuzhi Xu said it was hard to believe that she and her teammates were going to build a boat and sail it in the pool at Mauer Gym at Rider University.
”We don’t do this in China. It is hard to imagine you are going to build a boat that will not sink. It’s interesting. It’s a big challenge for me and I want to try it,” she said Sunday afternoon.
Zuzhi Xu was one of dozens of Rider University students who took part in the fourth annual cardboard canoe race, sponsored by the college’s Center for the Development of Leadership Skills.
The students gathered on the gym floor at the Student Recreation Center, surrounded by bits and pieces of cardboard, a roll of sticky gray duct tape and two black plastic trash bags. Some looked perplexed, while others dove right in to design their boats.
The objective is not merely to build a pool-worthy boat out of cardboard, but to help the students develop leadership skills in a team environment, said Laura Seplaki. She is the associate director for the Center for the Development of Leadership Skills.
”We want to help them understand group dynamics (to) create a successful product,” Ms. Seplaki said. “One thing we are doing this year is giving them obstacles. They will have to build the boat in silence for about 10 minutes. Then they will have to build the boat, using only one hand.”
The obstacles give the students a chance to develop leadership within a team, she said. They have to learn how to deal with obstacles. They need to be able to make a quick decision and then carry it out, she added.
But a few quick lessons in leadership are not enough to ensure that students will become leaders. Rider University’s head basketball coach, Kevin Baggett, told the students that part of being a leader is being a role model for others in his case, the players on the men’s basketball team.
”Everyone in this gym, when you go through life, what defines you is what you don’t enjoy and how you deal with it. You have to stay the course. You have to have a mission and a goal and (figure out) how to get there,” Mr. Baggett said.
”When you build that cardboard boat, you come together as a team. You do things together toward a common goal. You need to be good communicators and good listeners. You have to find a way. It’s going to be frustrating,” the coach said.
And then the students were turned loose on their piles of cardboard, duct tape and trash bags.
The gym was filled with chatter and lots of head-scratching. But when the 10-minute silence was announced, the students turned to gesturing to one another. The sorority sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon motioned to one another to put tape on this seam or to wait while until they could figure out how to solve an issue.
”I am very ‘hands on.’ I like working with cardboard,” said sorority sister Kelly Moore.
”Building a boat is challenging, whether you are communicating or not,” added sorority sister Kait Williamson.
Across the gym, the fraternity brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon carefully put the pieces of cardboard together. One fraternity brother took measurements and drew a line on the cardboard that was destined to become the bottom of the boat.
The Zeta Tau Alpha sorority sisters quickly taped together their cardboard canoe, and then slipped the plastic trash bags over the hull.
Off to one side, one of the sorority members had crafted three small boats out of paper. The largest one was christened the “SS ZTA.” Attached to it with a string was a smaller version, dubbed “da baby boat” and an even smaller version, named “da really baby boat” was attached to that one with a string.
Nearby, members of another team Tara Roach and Fatumata Koroma worked diligently to construct their cardboard canoe.
”I wonder what is the prize,” Fatumata said as she and Tara put the finishing touches to their boat.
Not sinking would seem to be the obvious answer.
Promptly at 5 p.m., the nearly 20 teams picked up their canoes and walked down to Mauer Gym and the swimming pool. They were greeted by a deafening roar from supporters who were perched in the balcony above the pool.
Four or five teams at a time launched their cardboard watercraft into the pool, struggling with the paddles that were handed to them. Some sank before they could paddle away, and others took on water midway down the lane.
Only four canoes made it to the other end of the pool Tau Kappa Epsilon, The Other Team, Zeta Tau Alpha and the Leadership Development Team 2.
Luckily for Zeta Tau Alpha they didn’t need “da baby boat” or “da really baby boat.”
