The Dorm Cup
Courtesy of @studentlifepea
By LOGAN BECKERLE, JUNE KOH, URA SHI, and MELIA THIBAULT
Exeter’s Got Talent, Trivia Night, the Regional Dance. You may have heard upper Andrew Gould reminding people in the hallways to attend any of these events. Over the winter term, the Student Council Recreation Committee has been organizing different events, incentivizing people to go by offering dorm points as a prize. The current standings are Main Street in first, Langdell in second, and Cilley in third. Ewald, taking an unexpected lead in the beginning, has now fallen to tenth. Coming in dead last is Front Street, with a grand total of 15 points. For reference, Main Street has 820.
The Dorm Cup is an exciting way for Exonians to express their dorm spirit. Extravagant dances and fierce competitions showcase how dorm communities come together when pitted against each other. This series of events has become something that students look forward to during the cold winter months. Upper Andrew Gould, head of the Recreation Committee, said, “[The Dorm Cup] supported me through some of my hardest moments in life, and I really believe we need to come together and enjoy those brief moments of relaxation as a community.”
When it comes to organizing the Dorm Cup, lots of effort has gone into it to ensure its success. Gould explained, “My vision for the dorm cup was a competition between dorms just like that but one whose sole purpose was building dorm community and boosting people’s engagement with student events.” He added, “When I came here as a prep, my dorm welcomed me, helped me through hard times, and allowed me to meet some of my closest friends. However, I really feel that there is so much more we could be doing to fuel dorm culture, that’s the real mission of the dorm cup.”
Additionally, many challenges go into planning each individual event as well. “A big problem has been keeping track of scores. In each event, we just have people showing up, and it’s kind of an issue that people don’t sign in, or not everyone is recognized, and we’re trying really hard to make that right,” lower La’i O’Shea stated. Gould also mentioned other challenges they faced with the administration and the student body in general. “One challenge has definitely been meeting the needs of the entire student body while working with the administration. Everybody’s a critic, and it can be very hard to put a ton of work into an event only for something to go wrong, but we are always open to feedback.” Despite this, the Rec Committee has worked hard to host events that have been fun and popular among many members of the student body.
The Dorm Cup has already produced some great moments since its inception. “I think it’s really fun that Ewald is so into it,” O’Shea commented. “They’re so into it and it’s just like funny watching them like try to have rivalries.”
Besides Ewald, Dodgeball and Trivia were standout events for Gould. “Dorm dodgeball is the event that started it all, and it is probably my favorite. People loved the competition, and I can’t wait to run the event again this spring,” Gould noted. “The trivia night is a close second; we went all in on planning everything, and the event went off without a hitch. It’s always great seeing your hard work pay off and I think it best represented the competitive potential for the dorm cup.”
In short, Dorm Cup has been a unique, unifying experience within the Exeter community. “I really like the community aspect in the dorm cup,” upper Cindy Mumbo said. Events like the dance, talent show, and trivia night have attracted Exeter students from all around campus, no matter what dorm. “My favorite moment in the Dorm Cup was just seeing people come together,” Mumbo said. All in all, Dorm Cup has been a fun and well-planned series of events and has added a spark to the days of Exeter students.
