'Liking pizza' an Ivy League trend

(This article appeared in the 3/31/03 joke issue)

Penn students are not alone in their love for pizza -- in fact, students across the Ivies are reporting that they frequently enjoy a slice or two.

"Pizza is incredibly popular at Princeton," Princeton University Dining Services spokeswoman Toni Morrison said, adding that a recent Princeton survey indicated that 90 percent of the student body "likes pizza."

Princeton, along with other Ivy League institutions, is on par with Penn's pizza numbers -- which indicate that a whopping 88 percent of Penn students "like pizza."

"Pizza's good as a leftover, too," Princeton junior Rachel Bernard said. "My friends and I even eat it cold!"

No matter how they slice it, Ivy Leaguers are stuffing themselves full of sweet, sweet pizza -- 85 percent of Columbia University students, 87 percent of Cornell University students, 89 percent of Yale University students and 91 percent of Dartmouth College students report that they "like pizza."

Brown University's pizza statistics are not yet available.

But many experts claim that the Ivy League's pizza trend is nothing new -- according to pizza expert Tom "Papa" John, pizza has been the most popular young person's food since the 1980s.

"The first Chuck E. Cheese franchise of 1980 marked the dawn of the pizza-loving era," John said. "From that point on, pizza has been closely linked with fun."

And according to John, college students have continued to point to pizza as their food of choice for a variety of reasons -- including cheese, tomato sauce and toppings.

"I usually don't like mixing foods together," Harvard junior Sara Mixter said. "But the combination of flavors in pizza is super."

John also attributed students' preference for pizza to past endorsements from celebrities, such as child star Haley Joel Osment, hottie Ashton Kutcher and cartoon crime fighters Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

"Cowabunga," said Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Michelangelo -- the orange one with the nunchucks -- who later confirmed that he "likes pizza."

Michelangelo was recently cleared of all charges of allegedly pouring motor oil over a Princeton University debater.

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