Students, staff and faculty competed in Wichita State’s annual Human Performance Studies chili cookoff Halloween afternoon. The event is for student appreciation and a means to give back to the Wichita community ahead of the holiday season.
While the chili cookoff has been an annual tradition since the early 2000s, this is the first year a pumpkin decorating and costume contest were added to the event.
Department chair of Human Performance Studies, Heidi Bell, was carrying a chair behind her back, leaning into her role of “department chair” for the People’s Choice Costume Contest.
According to Bell, the additions were the idea of a new faculty member, Lauren Bryant, who is in charge of recruitment and retention for HPS and came to the university in 2024.
“I think my hope is that even beyond our department of faculty, staff and students, (the event) goes campus wide,” Bell said. “I think it’s important just to, you know, have a moment of fun.”
Attendees were encouraged to donate canned goods or a monetary donation of $2.
“All of the proceeds … go to the food bank, just to help those in our community as we get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas thereafter,” Bell said.
There are two separate chili competitions: one for staff and faculty, and one for students.
Malachi Schaad, a student ambassador for the College of Applied Studies, participated in the chili cookoff for the first time this year and entered using his family’s chili recipe.
“I’ve gotten to know a lot of my professors at events like this outside of class,” Schaad said. “It’s a little bit of a way to disrupt that sort of hierarchy in a way where you feel like your professors are unapproachable.”
Shade was the few participants in the student section. “I like being the solo against the professors. I like competition in general,” Schaad said. “I’m excited to go and try everybody else’s chili.”
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article had a mistake regarding the name of a source, Malachi Schaad. This story has since been updated.
