Cockrell-McIntosh won after answering a “sudden death” question in the final round on the distance between Earth and Mercury in the 2018 Quiz Bowl on Thursday, Sept. 13th in Fondren library.
This semester’s Quizbowl was highly competitive as two commons tied in the last round of questions. This led to the sudden death question about the distance between Earth and Mercury to the closest million miles. Cockrell-McIntosh was able to clinch victory over Mary Hay/Peyton/Shuttles (MHPS).
“We had a lot of really smart people come out this year. It was definitely a lot of fun,” James Stine, the President of Cockrell-McIntosh said. “Byron, the child of the FIR family actually helped us get the last answer. It was a really cool experience.”
Cockrell-McIntosh was very excited about their win after coming in third to last place the year prior. Second place winner MHPS fought hard but their answer to the tie-breaker question was too big.
“The President of Cockrell, James, is one of my best friends and I wish him the best of luck, but we’re coming for him next time, “ Hary Sirivore, the President of Mary Hay/ Peyton/ Shuttles, said.
All 12 residential commons came out to play in the biennial Quizbowl on Thursday Sept. 13 in Fondren Library. The Quizbowl is a tradition put on by the SMU Housing Unification Board (HUB) where students compete in a pub-style trivia tournament in order to earn points for the annual Commons’ Cup competition.
“Quizbowl is a great opportunity to have some great food, learn some new facts and just have really great community building time,” Isabel Costian, Vice President of Boaz said.
The Commons’ Cup division of points is split into four categories: Intellectual Engagement, Creativity, Community Engagement and Athletics. Quizbowl makes up the majority of the Intellectual Engagement category. Fall Quizbowl and Spring Quizbowl are each worth 33 percent of the Intellectual Engagement category.
Quizbowl is split into two rounds of competition, with the winner being the commons that earns the most cumulative points over the two rounds. Students, their residential commons affiliates and Faculty in Residence (FIRS) all try to answer random and interesting questions about different categories. The categories ranged from “Pixar Movies” to “U.S. Presidents,” and questions varied greatly. The quizmaster asked questions like “Which letter of the alphabet did the Greek letter chi most resemble?” and “Mt. Etna and Mt. Vesuvius are volcanos in which country?”
“I think it’s a great way to help people connect on a bunch of random topics that we all sorta love,” Hannah Costley, President of McElvaney Commons said.
While the inter-commons competition was a big reason for all the commons’ participation, lots of students showed up for the camaraderie and the community building. Quizbowl is a favorite for students because it allows them to hang out with friends in a relaxed setting.
“You get to meet new people that you don’t really meet in the common rooms sometimes, so yeah this is awesome,” Alice Mellon, a freshman at Virginia-Snider said.
Quizbowl has become a residential commons tradition over the past few years. This year SMU HUB wanted to make sure the event really focused on the organization’s values of community collaboration through friendly competition and networking, as well as uniting the residential communities through their common’s respective cultures.
“At Quizbowl, it’s a great environment when all the commons come together and build unity within themselves and connect to their own unique culture, “ Noah Wells, the executive director of SMU HUB, said. “Students also connect to the greater culture of SMU and really get behind that.”
