TARA DACTYL
Special to the Lampoon
Losing a game of Trivia Crack may be one of the saddest moments one can experience. Coming in last at Ellicott Brewing Company or Wing City Grille’s trivia can ruin a person’s entire week. Getting question after question incorrect can really do a number on self-confidence. But this semester, Fredonia is offering a class to help regain that confidence, and give students a fighting chance against the old people at trivia night.
“There aren’t very many courses in the Liberal Arts Department, so we’re very excited to be adding this class,” said Dr. John White, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “It’s a fun class that I think a lot of people are interested in.”
LART 160, “Pursuit of Trivia,” is a class in which students study trivia. From history, to science, to entertainment, the class covers every area that could come up at Applebees or at family game night.
“I can’t believe it took Fredonia so long to offer a class like this,” said super-senior, self-design major Laura Crocker. “Finally, a class that I can apply to real life. I can’t wait to beat my sister on Trivia Crack at the end of this semester. She beats me every time.”
Crocker is one of 80 students taking LART 160. The class is taught in a lecture hall by Dr. Alfred Miller, associate professor in the Philosophy Department.
“When Academic Affairs was asking the faculty who wanted to teach the new trivia class, I immediately jumped on the opportunity,” said Miller. “I know that it may seem unexpected for a philosophy professor to teach a class of this nature, but honestly, I love trivia. I mean, who doesn’t?”
White said he knew LART 160 would peak the interest of some students, but he didn’t expect to fill a lecture hall.
“There was a point when we had to decide whether or not to open another section of the class,” said White. “But we made the decision to keep the class large, because in life, you never know what kind of crowd you’re going to be playing trivia against. Might as well train in an extreme environment so you can be sure you can handle every other situation.”
A recent study showed that over 90 percent of all college students in the United States participate in a trivia competition at some point in their college careers. LART 160 is the kind of class that caters to nearly every student on campus, and so far, the feedback has been extremely positive.
“Pursuit of Trivia is easily my favorite class out of every one I’ve ever taken during my 10 semesters at Fredonia,” said Crocker. “I can learn things in class, then right away apply them to a game.”
“That’s one of the special things about this class,” said Miller. “The fact that students can immediately see its importance. With some classes, students feel like they’ll never need to use the material in their life. But when you’re learning so many different things, at least one thing you learned in class will be useful to you in that same day.”
In LART 160, students learn dates, names and award winners among many, many other things. Crocker said that flashcards are a must.
“All tests and quizzes are multiple choice,” said Crocker. “That may sound easy, but memorizing 50 dates and 60 names in a week is extremely difficult. So far, I’ve had to buy three stacks of index cards, and we’re not even a month into classes.”
In the midst of all 80 students in the lecture hall during LART 160, it’s not surprising to see White.
“I do like to sit in on the class when I have time,” said White. “My goal is to beat my family at Trivial Pursuit by May. I think with this class, there’s no way anyone can beat me.”