Horn Tooting
It's nice to start something and see it grow. But until a friend sent me this, I wasn't aware that I began such a grand tradition in my law school.
Oh, I guess I'd heard it was still around, but I didn't know it became so big. It's the University of Chicago Law School trivia contest. It began as a lark and is now an official activity that's apparently one of the high points of the year.
I started it in the dorm where I lived as a first-year with other law students. The year after I expanded it to the entire law school. I was emcee and wrote the questions (pre-internet, mind you). The students formed four-person teams--usually named after law-related phrases--and we had elimination rounds. After that, the champions took on the faculty all-stars.
It was popular from the start, which I attribute to the wide-ranging knowledge, competitive nature and general nerdiness of Chicago law students (and faculty). That and the fact that Hyde Park residents are entertainment-starved. We held the rounds in classrooms during lunch period. In fact, I remember a few profs who weren't happy when everyone hadn't cleared out in time. (What I don't remember is all the planning. There had to be some, but it wasn't like putting on a show--the whole thing just seemed to happen.)
It could have withered away, but I handed it off to a person (I don't want to mention her name without her approval) who obviously did a great job and turned it into a self-perpetuating activity. One innovation was to give the teams electric buzzers--I gave them clickers which was as hi-tech as I could manage.
The contest, always a highlight of admitted students weekend, usually favors student teams as faculty members struggle with the pop culture questions. This year, though, the student team - named Ann [sic] Rand McNally's World Atlas Shrugged - had a secret weapon that led to the demise of the faculty team Cert. Denied: first- year law student Ross McSweeney, who garnered 43 of the student points.
I looked for an action photo of professor Richard Epstein, trivia hot-shot from the early days, and instead found the one above featuring a future Supreme Court Justice. (You can see the fancy electronic apparatus as well.)
posted by LAGuy @ 12:02 AM
6 Comments:
What was the question deom "who Said It?" where you used paired a quote from Frank Easterbrook with a quote from a founding father (?) that got the judge a little perturbed (but then again, he always seemed a little perturbed).
Prof Larry Kramer also I recall for showing his unparalleled knowledge of the technical aspects of blue movies
Alternate uses for Ivory Liquid?
The Kramer thing I remember. The other stuff is a blank.
In general I did try to keep the questions honest, and not slanted toward any team or person.
I guess the Prof. Currie Hat Day event didn't enjoy the longevity of the quiz bowl. But the 80's also saw the birth of the Law School Musical, the Legal Forum, and the Dean Badger pie in the face event, traditions which I understand continue to this day. Were the 80's just a super creative period?
Were you at Chicago when E.K. taught there?
She joined the faculty a few years after I left. I did see her around during times I returned, but, of course, no one said "there goes a future Justice."
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