88FALL ORGANIZATIONS Buzz i ngBack In The Academic Quiz Team returns for the 2021-22 school year. ONE MORE ROUND Freshman Aubrey Jones and junior Jackson Benight listen to a tossup question. The students could buzz in as soon as they thought of the answer. Photo by: Kaitlyn Cutshall THE TRIVIA LOVERS OF CAMPUS REASSEMBLED in fall 2021 when the Academic Quiz Team was revived after a seven-year absence. In the past, Harding’s Academic Quiz Bowl team competed in the National Academic Quiz Bowl Tournament (NAQT). In the NAQT 2007 Intercollegiate Championship Tournament, the team competed and ranked above schools such as Princeton, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State. The legacy of these teams was impressive and made the team’s comeback more meaningful. At its revival, the team was led by associate professor of physics Steven Barber and assistant professor of political science Liann Gallagher. Barber and Gallagher met with the Provost Office in spring 2021 to approve the organization and subsequently sent out an interest survey to gauge participation. “We got lots of responses, way more than I expected,” Barber said. “I added everyone who said they were interested to a Canvas course for communication and organization.” The interested students pursued preparation before the practices in the fall, taking advantage of Barber’s resources in the online classroom. “While I was abroad, I was able to do some practice quizzes via Canvas,” freshman Aubrey Jones said. “It was really good to help introduce me to the differences between high school and college style questions, and I had fun getting to learn.” The members were eager to create a steady group rhythm and sought greater diversity of knowledge for their team. “I’m really hoping to be a part of a team dynamic where everyone picks up the slack,” senior Jackson Benight said. “If I’m on a team with a chemistry major, a math major, a history major and a theatre major, we might not have somebody that knows the literature very well, so I may need to pick up that slack. A big part of it is team management skills.” Since the program had not been actively competing since 2015, Barber and Gallagher had to piece together what their new program was going to look like. “If they want to become the best Quiz Bowl team they can be, I can help them become better in that way, but I want to help people to engage in different levels,” Barber said. “We’re trying to see if it is possible to engage both the people who want to be committed to a competitive and traveling team while also finding ways to engage other people from across campus who maybe just enjoy trivia but aren’t necessarily that committed.” While the 2021-22 team had much to prepare for, the purpose of their first year back was to have fun and refine their craft. “I’m most excited to get a group of people together who are passionate about Quiz Bowl and who are ready to go and compete in tournaments,” Benight said. “It’s exciting to get a group of like-minded people— nerds, as I like to affectionately say— together.” WRITTEN BY ZACH BISHOP
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