This was on the bottom of the front page of Thursday's Broadside. So I dunno, does anyone keep an archive of this sort of thing? My only concern was that we are not a 100% trash-oriented team. Otherwise, I thought she did a nice job. -- Trivia to challenge Mason's brightest By Erika Ervin Broadside Correspondent Do you think you can name three porn stars off the top of your head? You might have to if you compete with the George Mason academic trivia team. The academic trivia team is a new addition to the organizations on campus, and was started by Mason student Shawn Pickrell. The group can be best described as a quiz team in which the opponents race against each other to answer the questions correctly. However, the questions can range in topic from sports to comic strip characters. Pickrell, the team's coach, previously created an academic team at Randolph Macon College. "I considered the team [at Randolph Macon] a lot of fun and wanted to share this opportunity with other Mason students," Pickrell said. This has been the team's first semester and currently they only have four active members. At the moment, they are looking to recruit. Surprisingly, it is not difficult to become a member. According to Pickrell, you have to be reliable and able to attend practices. Practices last around ninety minutes, and are held once a week. Next semester the practices are going to be held on Wednesday evenings. Students do not have to obtain a certain GPA to become a member, only a willingness to have a good time. "One of the best things about the club is that we have fun. No matter what happens, we have fun," said Robert Mee. The team had successful outcomes in the tournaments they competed in over this past semester. They competed against teams such as Georgetown, George Washington and Delaware University. There can be up to four members on one team. Frequently, tournaments allow multiple teams to participate. At certain tournaments the members are asked to challenge their opponents with questions they developed prior to the event. Although this is not a typical procedure, it does allow the members to show their creative tactics in inventing challenging questions. The tournaments usually last from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fees for weekend-long tournaments are covered by the group. Additional expenses are the responsibility of the team members. In the spring 2000 semester, Pickrell wants to encourage students and anyone associated with Mason to attend the Intramural Tournament. This tournament is still being planned, but it will most likely take place on campus, and there are possible cash prizes to be offered. You are allowed to have up to four people on a team, but you can also compete with less. Some people compete alone, which takes a great deal of confidence. This is a great opportunity for students and administration to get together and see what the academic team is all about. Anyone interested in becoming involved with the academic trivia team or has any questions about membership is encouraged to contact Shawn Pickrell at spickrel_at_....
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