Emmalee Rathman

Despite the theft of the cash box from the front desk of Katharine Thomas Hall in September, the volunteers of Weenies for the Wasted continue selling hot dogs to students returning from off-campus parties.

“It’s disheartening to see that someone would take money from a fund-raiser,” freshman Stephanie Rippl said while she sold hot dogs Friday night.

“No one was in a good mood after the front desk theft,” sophomore Jillian Christopherson said.

Other KT residents, including Hall Council President Kevin Pazdernik, were at Weenies for the Wasted Friday night talking to people and overseeing the operation.

On average, Pazdernik said, the fund-raiser can bring in between $75 to $100 each weekend. On a very busy weekend, it can make almost $200.

The money is given to the university cashier and placed into the Hall Council’s account.

Money raised by the event goes toward funding Hall Council programs, Christopherson said.

“Since Katharine Thomas is such a small hall,” Pazdernik said, “the usual hall fund-raisers only get $30 in profit, if they are successful, and Weenies raises much more.”

Any resident can volunteer to sell hot dogs on Friday or Saturday nights from 8 p.m. to midnight.

“It’s something the hall can do because of its prime location between the bridge and the hill,” Christopherson said.

Friday night brought a varied crowd of customers to Weenies. Some people were regulars coming home from house parties and others were attending an a capella concert at Haas Fine Arts Center.

“Hot dogs here are awesome when you’re having a long night and coming back,” said freshman Andrea Hildebrand as she watched her friend eat a hot dog.

“No one here knows how long Weenies has been going on,” Pazdernik said. “When I was a freshman I asked the seniors if they knew when it began and they said they asked the same thing when they were freshmen and nobody knows exactly when it started.”

Throughout his time spent selling at Weenies, Pazdernik said he’s seen some weird happenings and has gotten some bizarre requests.

Weenies has had their ketchup stolen on multiple occasions, he said, and it even resulted in a fight between a worker and the ketchup thief last year, and the University Police had to intervene.

In previous semesters male workers have been flashed by female partygoers in exchange for a hot dog, he said.

Pazdernik said people often try to bargain like that for a discount or free hot dog.

“One guy offered me 25 cents and a condom for a hot dog,” he said.

Bargaining and flashing won’t work anymore, he said.

“Hot dogs are always a dollar, and ketchup and mustard are always free,” Pazdernik said.

Christopherson and Rippl said working at Weenies is a fun way to spend the night.

“It’s entertaining,” Rippl said.

Christopherson has worked at Weenies four times so far and she said it is a fun way to meet and talk to a lot of people, and it’s funny to watch customers once in a while.

“If people want hot food for the trip up the hill, we’ll sell it to them,” Pazdernik said.

People come in crowds, he said, and if the first person stops to buy a hot dog, all of his or her friends will stop and maybe buy a hot dog too.

“Bring six dollars to a party,” said sophomore Amy Bonlender, treasurer of KT. “So you have one to spend on the way home.”