On Friday night, October 11, names like The Sorting Hats, Slytherin to my DM’s, Ravenclaw to the Second Power, and The Defense Association rang out through the Great Hall of the lower drum in Festival. University Program Board (UPB) hosted Harry Potter Trivia for a crowd of fans devoted to the books and movies.
Senior SMAD major Allison Milot said she came that night because she is a huge Harry Potter fan and knew, “It was something I could win at.”
Each student looked more confident than the last as they wrote down their answers on their sheets. The first round saw perfect scores from each of the eight six–person teams, but as the rounds progressed, teams slowly dropped off. Confident team members would clap their hands together and quickly lean in with the correct answer before leaning back in their chair with a smug smile on their face. There were forty-five seconds between each question and excited chatter filled each gap. The time was balanced to allow students to comfortably answer the question while being able to hold a conversation with friends.
The UPB staff would then walk around the tables and collect the answer sheets. The facilitator would then call out the names of the teams to collect the previous rounds answer sheets and then read out the round’s answers. Cheers would follow, sometimes the loudest from the teams who answered incorrectly. At the end of the night, the top four teams would win a $10 gift certificate to Campus Cookies each. Free cookies were a large motivation, but the teams were there to come in first.
“I’m a Slytherin, so I hope I win and get the prize,” IDLS Staff member Scarlett Nishimoto said.
“So, who’s confident about their Quidditch knowledge?” the witch hat wearing facilitator ask the crowd.
The first round of trivia was miscellaneous Harry Potter knowledge, but each round after that had a theme such as Quidditch or naming characters based on their pictures from the movie. The questions were careful to discern whether they were refereeing to the movie or the book, as there is some difference.
UPB hosts events like trivia often so that students have activities that coincide with their interests. The trivia was Harry Potter themed because, let’s be honest, what student doesn’t like Harry Potter? Every UPB event is focused on the students and what will excite and entertain them.
Freshman International Affairs major Maggie Cooke’s mother was a part of UPB when she was in college and now Maggie has joined because, “I like helping campus.”
UPB is for and by students. They host Late Night Breakfasts at least twice a semester and host bigger events like the Fall Concert featuring Bryce Vine. Follow them on social media for immediate updates or visit their Crazy Commons to stay informed. Harry Potter Trivia is only the first taste of the great events UPB will be hosting this semester, so don’t miss out on the rest.