Daring to “spill your guts” at this year’s dare assembly

The+2023+Dare+Assembly+involved+many+different+students+spilling+their+guts+for+Swine+Week.+

Macey Thaxton

The 2023 Dare Assembly involved many different students “spilling their guts” for Swine Week.

Macey Thaxton, Staff Writer

Edmond Memorial High School’s (EMHS) famous Swine Week is in full swing. One of the most popular ways to raise money during Swine Week is by paying people to perform outlandish dares. To add to the dares at lunch and in the classroom, the annual Dare Assembly was held this past Thursday during the school day. This year’s Dare assembly was hosted by Ryley Watkins, Daniel Wilguess and Adam Stell. 

The assembly kicked off with the singing of the national anthem by an employee of the 2023 recipient, HopeHouse OKC. After the traditional opening rituals of “can you dig it?,” the previous day’s recap and a money run, the dares finally began with speed-paintings done by members of the art club.

The first of many dares is a fan-favorite: the milk chug. Although rather graphic and nasty at times, the victims who have to drink gallons of milk usually receive the most applause. This year’s milk-chug winner was sophomore Joshua Barns by a long shot. Usually, the losers of each challenge have to suffer a vulgar punishment, and this year was no exception. The three losers of the chug had to spin around a baseball bat and run across the gym right after the chugging so that they had no time to recover. 

While the competitors were downing their gallons, the annual date auction took place. Dates auctioned off this year consisted of varsity football player Clay Owens, varsity pom dancer Lily Vanswearingen and varsity volleyball player Aimee Truong. Bids rose to well over a thousand dollars, mainly from friends and significant others.

Next, two unlucky students were chosen to dig through trash cans from the school’s cafeteria to find random items that had been mixed in with the food and mysterious liquids. These items ranged from a bag of Fritos to a quarter. Following the previous rules, loser Cannon Bushman was slapped in the face with a fish three times.

After the fish fiasco, senior Joey Lehmann and his competitors, freshmen Erin Killackey and Clare Nichols, faced off in an intense hot dog-eating contest. Lehmann beat the girls by a landslide, and as their punishment, they were covered in ketchup and mustard in front of the whole school in order to be made into human hotdogs.

“I think that it was definitely worth it because it’s helping impact a good cause. It’s always good to get a school hyped up during the biggest week of the year,” Nichols said.

One of the main events of the entire assembly was “Spill your guts or fill your guts,” which was inspired by an event on The Late Late Show with James Corden. The two contestants on the floor were School Resource Officer Bervis Littles and EMHS Head Principal Brandi Wheeler. The two were asked outrageous questions, and if they couldn’t give an answer, they had to eat something off of the table that consisted of chicken feet, crickets, frog legs and even maggots. By the end of the game, Principal Wheeler had eaten a chicken foot, and Officer Little had attempted to eat a cricket.

“It’s fun for the kids to see me in a different light as the head principal. I just think it’s so fun to interact with the kids,” Wheeler said. 

The next notable event was “The Story of Swine Week” presented through a dance battle between the Memorial Bulldog and the Swine Week Pig mascots. The intense battle ended in friendship as the two walked off the court arm-in-arm. 

Somewhere in between all the dares, senior Braden Kargl volunteered to shave his head “for the kids.” Kargl is known for being the EMHS Bulldog mascot, keeping everyone hyped at sporting events and assemblies. 

“It was definitely worth it to help the homeless community. It’s just hair; it will grow back,” Kargl said.

The last event of the assembly was a contest to throw nasty food onto the other side of a net and keep it there. The unfortunate players were throwing onions, heads of lettuce, maggots, rotisserie chickens and chicken feet. The losers had to blend the leftover food into a blender and drink it.

The assembly closed like all the others before it, with the Swag Surf. The Dare Assembly exceeded its vulgar reputation as it does every year, with classic and brand-new challenges to keep the students on their feet.

Contact Macey Thaxton at [email protected]