Sporting safety goggles, Jarred England swung the sledgehammer down on the hood of the ’88 Delta. The Glasgow sophomore was relieving himself of the tension of a past relationship, he said. Visions of his ex-girlfriend danced in his head as he pounded a hole in the dashboard.

England was just one of the participants of the “Big Red Smash Bash” held Saturday on Downing University Center North Lawn to raise funds for the Advertising Federation – a club open to students interested in advertising – which they call AdFed.

AdFed charged $2 for one swing, but most participants opted for the special whack-until-you-get-tired extravaganza for $5.

Although the club only raised around $150, AdFed members weren’t disappointed.

“We’re having fun just being here and watching people hit the car and hitting it ourselves,” said Elizabethtown senior Matt Rountree, president of AdFed.

Among the participants was Bowling Green sophomore and 91.7-WWHR FM production director Lee Uber, who beat in the the driver’s side door for his live radio audience.

“We just thought we’d come out and see the football game and hang out in front of this smashed car… It’s the coolest thing out today,” Uber said.

The sight of people swinging the hammer at a jalopy covered in splashes of red paint and caricatures of Big Red drew stares from nearby tailgaters.

A police officer cruising the area on his bicycle stopped and paid $5 to see an AdFed member have a turn with the hammer.

Rountree said the group had to lobby for awhile before Western would allow them to hold the event.

“They (Western) were afraid someone was going to get hurt, so all students have to sign liability papers, but we really appreciate all their help in letting us do this,” Rountree said.

Everyone who let the hammer fly was given free Papa John’s pizza and a t-shirt with the picture of Andrea Sanders, AdFed’s homecoming queen candidate.

Reach Adriane Hardin at [email protected].