Six prominent University figures kissed a pig for charity Monday afternoon.Students donated $1 to vote on a student, athlete and faculty member to kiss a pig. The Rotaract Club’s annual Kiss the Pig competition raised $600 this year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. “This year we put a little twist on it and included the top four faculty votes,” said Brittly Godfrey, director for Kiss the Pig. The “winners” were Katrice Albert, vice provost for Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach; Paul Mainieri, LSU baseball coach; Theo Williams, Student Government assistant director of external affairs; Patrick Peterson, junior football cornerback; Darrell Ray, assistant vice chancellor for Student Life; and Susan Jackson, senior all-around gymnast.Godfrey said she was still satisfied with the amount collected despite missing the $1,000 goal.”Being that we are in a recession, it’s hard for students to donate money,” Godfrey said. “We did the best we could.”The winners kissed Viola Lynn Tucker, a 1-year-old, 280-pound Yorkshire-Berkshire mixed pig donated from the Ag Center’s Swine Unit.”She’s the PR representative for the LSU Swine Unit,” said Rebecca Lirette, research associate and Swine Unit supervisor. “[Viola is] promoting the relationship between people and agriculture.”The pigs are always donated from the AgCenter, Lirette said.”These animals are used for research and education,” she said. “We can guarantee the animals are treated right.”Peterson said he was happy to give back to the community.”It smelled pretty bad, but it was for the patients,” he said.Albert said she kissed a 5-week-old piglet instead of Viola because she didn’t have the courage to kiss the larger pig.”I think the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Baton Rouge is so important, and when Brittly called me, I was the first to sign up,” Albert said. “I’ve had family members with cancer who have succumbed to it. It’s a very important cause.”Jackson said kissing the pig was a fun and smelly experience.”Anytime we can help out with charity events that get overlooked is good,” Jackson said. “I’m up for anything, even if it’s kissing a pig.”Phoebe Hathorn, Rotaract Club president, said Kiss the Pig is the largest event the club hosts. “It’s the largest event we have because so much of the student population is involved,” Hathorn said. “It’s always a big spectacle, and it’s something people always look forward to.”Godfrey said the contest was ultimately about the cause.”It’s a good cause because there are a lot of people battling cancer, and it takes a toll on their whole life, especially financially,” Godfrey said. “This money goes toward their financial expenses.”—-Contact Sarah Eddington at [email protected]