Rolls were not held this weekend due to the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race. This 10K winds from Squirrel Hill near Frick Park down to Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, necessitating many road closures and detours. (Given the weather we had this weekend, we might not have had rolls anyway.)

Fear not, buggy fans- we still have content to bring you this week! The Sweepstakes committee was kind enough to take time from catching up on sleep to share a little bit about themselves with our alumni. These are the people that really make buggy happen, and I speak for all alumni when I say- THANK YOU! Read on to meet them!


The Great Race Start Line (@thegreatrace on instagram)

The roads were closed Sunday for runners, not buggies- weird!

CMU Sweepstakes Committee 2024-2025:

  • Sweepstakes Chairman

    Elena Harllee (she/they)

    Masters (5th year at CMU) | history

    The core principle of my role is to make buggy happen, which means I do everything except what the safety chair does. By far my favorite aspect has been getting to know all the the teams and their various characters and struggles. You can find me banging my head against a wall over chores logistics, shaking my fist at Pittsburgh rainclouds, or chatting with teams about what they need to make this year a great one.


    Major
    Mechanical Engineering
    If you could make one impractical change to buggy, what would it be?
    Course optimization. Repave all the roads with a quick drying material that retains heat well and maximizes wheel performance. Then remove all the lines on the road, get rid of the trees with the smelly fruit by the flags, get rid of bollards, convince the geese not to poop on the road, ect. Lets see how buggies can perform when we remove all the environmental factors that slow them down.
    Anything else you’d like us to know?
    If wasn’t on Sweepstakes this year I’d start a new buggy team called “Juggy” and build a buggy where the last fiber layer is made of denim (including the pushbar). Clearcoat only of course, to properly display all the denim glory.

  • Safety Chair

    Lara Witwick

    Senior | history

    I run all the safety protocols in buggy, including capability testing, driver safety training, and safety gear tagging. Its been exciting to return to the role and get to make improvements to our driver safety practices


    Major
    Mechanical Engineering
    Tell us about the living things you take care of.
    I recently gained ownership of some succulents that had been left in the sweeps + spring carnival office and am trying to them back to full health
    If you could make one impractical change to buggy, what would it be?
    Air bags. Driver commentary from in-buggy

  • Assistant Chair

    Elliot Escalante (he/him)

    Senior | history

    Tracking rolls, meeting notes, & keeping chores in check


    Major
    Mechanical Engineering + Minor in Military Studies & Intl. Affairs
    If you could make one impractical change to buggy, what would it be?
    Bring back dropping pushbars, only for the comedy of when they don’t get raised back up for the back hills & seeing what the pushers do to improvise
    What’s a piece of media that you never get tired of?
    Cyberpunk 2077 & Edgerunners or Alien(s)

  • Design Competition Chair

    Caity Santiago (she/they)

    Senior | history

    I have the great honor of planning and coordinating our carnival showcase! In addition to that I coordinate and plan design competition. I am most excited to plan the showcase activities. (yay coloring pages!)


    Major
    Materials Science and Engineering, Additional Major in Biomedical Engineering
    Tell us about the living things you take care of.
    I have 1 pothos, 1 money tree that I am presently growing, and 3 air plants that I recently bought. I also have a dog at home but that makes me a part time parent now I suppose.
    Where would you like the next Raceday Grand Tour location to be?
    Tokyo. fast and furious style.

  • Buggy Book Chair

    Vic Nguyen (they/them)

    Senior | history

    I see Buggy Book chair as being responsible of making a piece of memorabilia for people involved in buggy. I hope to make something that feels representative of the experience that people had in buggy for as many people as possible. I used to do yearbook, so I’m just excited to be back in the designing space.


    Major
    Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
    If you could make one impractical change to buggy, what would it be?
    An impractical change I would want to make is to require teams to change their shell build material every year. I think seeing artisan craftwork rolling down the freeroll would be so fun. Like imagine a forged metal buggy or a wood veneer bent buggy.
    Where would you like the next Raceday Grand Tour location to be?
    Pittsburgh! but on Canton Ave (the steepest road in America)
  • Lastly, rolls are back on this weekend. Sign up here if you can come to take notes and/or photos! See you on the course!

    Thanks again to the Sweepstakes committee for sharing a little bit about themselves!