Stress levels by week six make some students want to smash something.

On Thursday afternoon, Kent State students and administration took the opportunity to take a 10-pound sledgehammer to a mid-1990s, graffiti covered Ford Thunderbird.

Alpha Phi Omega hosted the car smashing event to raise money. The 19 fraternity members will use the $260 raised to attend their organization’s 2008 National Conference in Boston and will donate 50 percent to United Way charities.

People walking by Manchester Field watched the plastic goggle-wearing participants take turns whacking the vandalized car. The service fraternity spray-painted the two-door car with words that read Beat Akron, Go Kent, Smash Me and Bash Me. After a few hits, freshman athletic training major Destanie Robinson said, “Yay, I broke something!”

Cold weather and muddy surroundings did not deter people from taking part in the charitable event. But Della Marie Marshall, associate director of campus life, took a few swings and complained about the sledgehammer’s weight.

“That thing’s heavy, not fun,” she said.

Freshman athletic training major Devontae Ferguson dealt four powerful blows before his sheer force caused him to slip and fall in the mud and drop his Bluetooth.

“I was thinking about Akron,” said Ferguson. “I don’t like Akron, and I’m from Akron.”

Consistent booming thuds of a one-minute bash session could be heard from the Manchester Field parking lot. Nicknames like “the human can opener” began circulating as participants dealt the car damaging blows.

“I always wanted to hit a car,” said Chris Gaudino, Alpha Phi Omega treasurer and student.

Even President Lester Lefton participated in the event. Lefton dealt one blow before returning to his office without paying the one dollar car-hitting fee, Gaudino said.

The cost for smashing the car ranged from one to five dollars. The Thunderbird was donated by Henry Spriestersbach, owner of B & H Salvage and Parts in Ravenna.

Spriestersbach’s employees retrieved the crunched metal that remained and will dispose of it at their facility.

Contact social services reporter Gina Maldonado at [email protected].