Freshmen Plan for Policies

By Stacey Axler

Photo by Elaheh Eghbal

October is right around the corner, and with the fall semester reaching the midterm mark, freshman students have experienced a number of Hood traditions so far – except the competition for The Pink Spoon.

Policies for Dollars, the long-standing Hood competition in which freshman students compete in skits and trivia contests to win a giant pink spoon (and some money) for their residence hall, will take place this year on Oct. 6.

“I’m really excited to participate in Policies for Dollars, because I’m excited to be a part of this Hood tradition,” freshman Baily Chezch said.

With the competition only days away, the five residence halls are preparing for the festivities to try and get a head start. And in a welcomed change to the event, freshman commuter students now have a team of their own to compete against the on-campus dorms.

In past Policies for Dollars competitions, commuter students who wanted to participate were encouraged to join residence hall teams. But this year, commuter students will participate in a separate team, which is managed by sophomores Kevin Parker and Travis Kerr, along with the Commuter Student Council.

“I hope that the commuter team becomes the underdog team that wins Policies, like Shriner won last year,” said Anna Mercedes Barbosa, a member of the Commuter Student Council.

The events featured in Policies for Dollars this year include the outdoor obstacle course, group cheers on the quad, the skit and the Jeopardy-style trivia section, which features questions about Hood policies and traditions.

The freshman representatives of each residence hall have been diligently working with their freshman hall-mates to gather a team for each event.

Ravleen Kreshna, a freshman representative for Coblentz, said, “I think that Coblentz will compete really well in Policies, but it is a lot of work to prepare for, and sometimes I wish we started earlier.”

Many freshman students want their residence hall to win Policies for Dollars and thus receive the award of the Pink Spoon, which is a giant pink spoon made out of wood that has been in the college’s possession for over 20 years.

Already, a healthy competition regarding creativity has developed among the residents of various dorms. For example, the freshmen of Memorial Hall and Coblentz Hall were initially both developing very similar skit ideas, leading Memorial Hall to write a new skit.

“I really want Memorial to bring the Pink Spoon back home,” said Memorial freshman representative T’Mera Mitchell.

Shriner Hall won the Pink Spoon during Policies for Dollars last year, and this year, every residence hall and the commuter team are working hard to beat the competition.

“My hope for Policies for Dollars is that Shriner lives up to the expectations set last year,” said Shriner Hall President Carley Altenburger.

Policies for Dollars, which begins on the quad, will ultimately take place in the Hodson Auditorium in Rosenstock, and it is open for all students to attend. Regardless of which team wins, the competition is a longstanding Hood tradition that honors and showcases the new freshman students.

“It’d be really awesome to win, but mostly I’m just excited because [Policies for Dollars] sounds like a great way to hang out with the people you live with,” said freshman Amanda Shaffrey.

Photo Courtesy of Erin Ordway