Nuts, Bolts, & Wheels

Interfraternity Motor Sweepstakes—which would come to be known colloquially as Buggy—is one of Carnegie Mellon University’s longest traditions. The students and alumni who have participated throughout the years, documented so much of its history, and celebrated across generations created a community that is rare on modern university campuses.

But the Sweepstakes demonstrated—and continues to demonstrate—a profoundly unique aspect of CMU’s community. Buggy is a demonstration of our collective commitment to both art and science. It’s a demonstration of our desire to create applied knowledge to solve problems that exist outside the walls of the university.

This is what makes CMU great: our ability to be interdisciplinary, to seek non-traditional solutions to problems, and to empower our students to challenge themselves outside of the classroom.

It’s this spirit that made Spring Carnival—where the Sweepstakes happen—as important to CMU’s culture today as it was one-hundred years ago. This is our celebration of a collaboration between the arts, the sciences, the humanities, and athletics. This is our celebration of a collaboration between students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the larger world. This is where we celebrate working together toward a common goal.

And Buggy—a student-run event—was the first, and most enduring, demonstration of all of those ideals. Nuts, Bolts, & Wheels: 100 Years of Buggy is a celebration of those students—past, present, and future.