Due to extreme weather and ice, Delta Sigma Phi and Phoenix postponed the annual Polar Bear Plunge.

The Polar Bear Plunge, hosted by the Theta Lambda Chapter of Delta Sigma Phi and Phoenix, was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 1 in Lake Laurel at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Gardners, PA. Upon examination of Lake Laurel on the night preceding the event, Larry Jolon ’15, Delta Sigma Phi’s philanthropy chair, decided to postpone it to an indeterminate date. Jolon is waiting to hear from officials at Pine Grove, but the event will most likely occur in the beginning of April.

“When I went over to Laurel Lake the night before to assess how long it would take us to break the layer of ice on the lake, not only was the lake deeply frozen, the entire park was covered in a layer of ice,” said Jolon. “This has never occurred in the past, and for the sake of safety and having a fun atmosphere, I ultimately decided to cancel the event. It was a tough call, but fortunately it was the right choice: the volunteer EMTs called me the morning of the event advising me that it would be a bad idea to host the plunge.”

Delta Sigma Phi has been hosting this philanthropic event, where students plunge into the freezing lake, for over five years and all proceeds benefit the Special Olympics.

“I think there’s a lot of good in regards to empowering individuals that normally would not be seen as capable or can participate in certain activities that able bodied individuals would be able to do,” said Jolon about the Special Olympics.

Jolon made changes to this year’s event. In the past, the brothers were “passive” about raising money, but this year, Jolon set a goal of 1,500 dollars. Prior to postponing the event, Delta Sigma Phi raised 566.16 dollars, roughly 40 percent of their goal, and had 15 teams sign up. Participants had to register in teams ranging from two to eight people with a cost of 50 dollars per group.

In past years, Greek Life dominated the event. This year, Jolon hoped to involve more of the Dickinson community and see a more diverse group of participants. He reached out to all student organizations on campus in hopes of gaining more people. The 15 teams who signed up included a variety of clubs and organizations.

The Carlisle Bakery was originally supposed to provide pastries and donuts, another new aspect of the Plunge that Jolon added in order to get a local business involved. Because the bakery gave Delta Sigma Phi the pastries fresh the day before the event, they will not be provided for the new Plunge.

“It will probably not be iced over if we are doing this event in April, but we still expect the water to be very cold,” said Jolon.

“We are really disappointed that the Plunge couldn’t occur. But we’re going to take advantage of the delay to raise more money for the Special Olympics and we look forward to working with the Dickinson community in that endeavor,” said Joel Prushan ’16, brother of Delta Sigma Phi.

Because the Plunge has been postponed, Delta Sigma Phi and Phoenix will be table sitting again at a time TBA. Interested students can donate or sign up to participate. For more information, contact Jolon at [email protected].