KARA CEKUTA
Staff Writer
Did you know that there is a name for that guy in your 8 a.m. philosophy class who won’t stop asking stupid, pointless questions? Well, according to Urban Dictionary, you could call that guy an “askhole.”
On April 25, the brothers of Kappa Sigma asked contestants to spell “askhole” and other millennial-generated lingo for a chance to win a $50 Walmart gift card. The proceeds for this event were donated to the Military Heroes Campaign, one of Kappa Sigma’s philanthropies, which assists thousands of military veterans and their families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The spacious lecture hall on the second floor of McEwen Hall was flooded with spectators, including many fellow Greek Life members. Among the audience members were sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon such as freshman business major Alexandra Walsh, freshman journalism major Elyse Grieco and freshman communication disorders and sciences major Luciana Perri, who heard about the event through a circulating Facebook page.
“There was never a moment where I thought ‘this is dragging on,’” stated Walsh. “I was constantly laughing throughout the whole event. My favorite part was when the guys were saying the definitions of the words, because it was hilarious.”
“I think it’s great to see the campus community come together,” stated junior Matt Eisen, Kappa Sigma’s fundraising chair. “Regardless of what groups everyone comes from, at the end of the day, we are all members of the student body, and everyone coming together for a fun night and a great cause is simply just good to see. Greek Life as a whole can do a tremendous amount of good for the community when we all work together, and I hope to see even more unification in the future.”
The event was led by Eisen, who describing the competition as using the “typical rules of a spelling bee [with] made-up words from Urban Dictionary.”
The first round started out strong, losing only Kappa Sigma members junior sports marketing major Jimmy Kistner and senior accounting and finance major Juan Roman. Senior childhood education major Jessica Ficon and others moved on to round two with the correct spelling of “joygasm,” defined as “a huge feeling of pleasure, but not from sexual experiences.”
Contestants also had the option to hear their word used in a sentence. Roman requested clarification on his word, “communifake.” He was given the sentence, “I didn’t really want to talk to Juan while waiting in line for Starbucks, time to communifake.” Unfortunately, Roman missed an “m” and was disqualified.
Kistner met a similar fate in his spelling of “jabroni,” defined as a “loser, poser, lame-ass.” After hearing the word in a full sentence, “Austin Collins is a huge jabroni,” Kistner spelled the word as “J-A-B-R-O-N-Y,” joining his friend Roman in the losers’ seats.
The second round featured other honorable mentions, such as junior BFA acting major Meme Lawrence’s spelling of “canoodle,” junior communication disorders and sciences major Connor March’s spelling of “Hoprah” (hope + Oprah) and junior biology major Anthony Tardibuono’s spelling of “hypebeast” and “Trumpophobia” (fear of Donald Trump).
An hour into the event, three finalists had emerged: junior computer science major Christian Lozach of Delta Chi, junior childhood education major Meagan Spencer of Sigma Gamma Phi and junior sports management major Jesse Harris of Sigma Phi Epsilon. The three contestants spelled to the best of their abilities, concluding the event with Spencer as second runner-up, Lozach as runner-up and Harris as the first-place winner of Kappa Sigma’s first-ever Urban Dictionary Spelling Bee.