A trivia victory Wednesday night launched the BLOC – an alliance of Mauck Residence, Benzing Residence, and the Suites – into first place overall in homecoming standings.
Behind the BLOC, the Off-Campus Coalition is in second, followed by South Side Sweethearts and Greek Row tied for third, and Kappa and WhitWatWay tied for fifth.
“I think if we can place in mock rock and at least one other event, we’ve got a really good shot,” said junior Truman Kjos, who described himself as the “unofficial captain” of the BLOC trivia team.
The homecoming festivities began late Sunday night with a banner drop in the center of the student union. OCC took first place, followed by the Bloc in second and WhitWatWay in third.
Senior Allie Spaccarelli, captain of OCC, said the coalition almost didn’t form this year and wasn’t started until after the Student Activities Board announced the theme. She said one of the strengths of OCC is its voluntary nature.
“One of the things we have on our side is we are a group that has chosen to participate,” Spaccarelli said. “There’s no top-down force making this happen. We’re a group of people that want to be here and are in it to have the most fun with the people we have.”
Senior Joe Coleman, who helped produce the OCC video which placed fourth, said the first place finish to kick off the week was a confidence boost for the team.
“That was visual proof that we are a force to be reckoned with,” Coleman said.
The OCC music video was a “Twighlight Zone” parody which depicted the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the faking of the moon landing. Coleman said the idea
“Once the theme dropped, we thought ‘the ’60s, we have to reenact JFK’s assassination,’” Coleman said. “‘We just have to. The moon landing, too.’”
Spaccarelli and Coleman said they owe a lot of credit to their team members, including senior Hannah Cheng, their banner designer, senior Stephen Pearson, their videographer, and senior Nick Treglia, their video editor.
“We can pull off some next-level stuff,” Coleman said. “When we come together, we can make some great things.”
Kappa Kappa Gamma placed first in the music video competition Tuesday. Senior Meghan Dudzic, president of the sorority, said the first place finish lifted the spirits of the team after a disappointing sixth place finish in the banner competition.
“I think there were at least 20 hours put into that banner,” Dudzic said. “It was definitely tough and a little disheartening, but I’m so proud of my girls because I’ve never seen a group of people who bounce back better from disappointment.”
Senior Gabrielle Bessette, who led the production of the video, said the concept of the video was a flashback by Jan Brodbeck ‘67, a Kappa alumna.
“We figured we’d have her be the star of the show,” Bessette said. “That’s who you see in the first clip as she takes a sip of her Coca Cola, and then flashes back to all the different experiences that she had as a Kappa in the ’60s that we stage today.”
Remaining in the homecoming week competition are minute-to-win-it, volunteer hours, and mock rock. With 600 points still up for grabs, any team is still in the running to take first place.
Kjos said the BLOC is still confident in its ability to bring home a victory.
“We can definitely win this,” Kjos said.