Towers ignite in rivalry

In the most heated competition since the Winter Olympics, the residents of Stavig and Granskou Halls went head-to-head in the first ever Towers Cup.

The events were developed by the Residence Life staffs of both towers, and included a ping-pong tournament, spelling bee, Trivial Pursuit contest, pie-eating contest, Super Mario Smash Bros. game tournament, puzzle races, a black jack tournament, volleyball game and grill-out.

''With the wide variety of events, we caught different students' attention and were able to interact with many different residents,'' Stavig Hall Director Billy Thomas said.

Students embraced the chance to represent their residence hall in events that highlighted their personal hobbies and talents.

''I enjoy baking, and I was able to bake the cookies with one of the girls on my floor, [sophomore] Chelsey Illg, so we were able to have some bonding time,'' Stavig third-floor peer adviser and senior Trisha Beseman said. ''When I was finished, I gave all of my cookies to a girl in my interpreting major whose father passed away earlier in the week, so I was really able to help out others.''

Even if they didn't enjoy the activity, students were willing to compete in honor of their hall.
''I'm not a fan of chocolate pudding, but I was able to get past that,'' Beseman said.

The main goal of the competition was to bring the two towers together, since residents don't regularly socialize with students in the opposite tower. Peer advisers from each hall were paired together to run each contest.

''Yes, it was fun to see who was the best of the two towers, but it was really great to see Granskou and Stavig coming together for a friendly competition,'' Beseman said. ''On Sunday, we had a barbeque grill-out, and it was so fun to see the towers socializing with each other. It was a great way to end the year.''

After the residents sweated over game controllers and baking ingredients, one tower did come out on top.

''With a resounding victory in year one, Granskou asserted itself as the Harlem

Globetrotters to Stavig's Washington Generals,'' junior Corey Hermanson said.

Granskou came out on top of the overall competition with 106 points compared to Stavig's 80.

Thomas hopes the competition will continue in the years to come, allowing Stavig the opportunity to redeem itself in the battle between towers.

''I know that the students that participated this year had fun and enjoyed the many different events,'' Thomas said. ''We may have something very similar, but the real cool thing about this event is simply that we can add or change the events as we get new and interesting ideas.''

Participants had similar sentiments.

''I could see the Tower Cup competition turn into a competition-rich rivalry and tradition,'' Hermanson said. ''The building blocks are there for something great.''

With finals looming in the near future, students welcomed the chance to take a break from the academic grind to face challenges in the name of winning honor for their home hall.

''The events provided the students with a way to take pride in the building that they have lived in the past year,'' Thomas said. ''It also provided the students with a fun way to cut the stress they were dealing with near the end of the semester.''

For Hermanson, who won the spelling bee contest, the Tower Cup competition provided the opportunity to retire from an old pastime on a winning note.

''I went to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in 2003, so it was nice to dust off the spelling bee skills and know that I still got it,'' Hermanson said. ''I was eliminated on the word 'tagliatelle' in D.C., and in 2010 I won on the word 'appaloosa.' It's pretty much like John Elway winning the Super Bowl and riding off into the sunset.''