NCCC hosts benefit battle of the brains

WINSTED — It was a test of wits, skill and beating the buzzer as Northwestern Connecticut Community College held its fourth annual “Jeopardy” challenge on Friday, March 23.Four teams of students, including members of the History Association, Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the Student Senate and the Respect Equality and Alliance for Liberation (REAL) club competed against each other.In order to participate, each team had to raise funds which are given to a charity. This year, four teams raised $1,600 to be donated to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life.Before the game started, history professor Todd Bryda played warrior songs as the overhead video screen projected messages like, “Let the bloodletting begin!” and “This ain’t your momma’s game show!” The History Association got into the spirit by painting their faces like warriors.Bryda said that the game was all in fun, but the competitiveness was serious.“This is a great way for students to show their academic ability,” Bryda said. “All of these kids are very competitive, and it shows.”Categories included, “What? There Are Math Questions?”, “Grandma’s Grammar” and “Doctor Beck’s Best,” named after psychology professor Bob Beck, who was in the audience during the event.Beck said he would not hold anything against the students who answered the questions wrong in this namesake category.“I would have liked them to do better,” Beck said. “Hopefully they will remember these questions for my tests.”By the time the two-hour game ended, the REAL club won for the third year in a row with a score of 841 points. The Student Senate came in second place with 790 points, PTK came in third with 640 points and, despite the warrior paint, the History Association came in last at 220 points.