The Snowmen of SOM
Cohort competitions are sometimes a little bit impromptu. For example: a blizzard arrived in New Haven bringing a lot of snow, and also a golden opportunity for more than a little fun!
As you’ve read in some of my previous blog posts, the role of a cohort representative is to organize fun activities for cohort and inter-cohort bonding. When a blizzard swept New Haven last week, we leapt at the opportunity for a snowman building competition to be held in the courtyard of Evans Hall.
The Criteria were:
- 50% - Aesthetics of snowman (features, accessories, shapeliness – totally subjective)
- 50% - Story that the group tells about the snowman (inspiration, likeness, or a parable that details the plight of this snowman/woman in the depths of midwinter and the perils of the SOM courtyard)
For the first time this year, Gold won! Our inspiration was satirical, which of course pleases my British sentiments. The theme was Bernie Madoff, coming to the School of Money and reforming his ways (as demonstrated by the gold coins all around him). We even did a little dance to the song ‘For the love of money’ by the O’Jays.
I am especially proud because we were the only cohort able to get the snow to pack and make actual snowballs for the snowman! But this doesn’t mean the competition wasn’t tough. Blue Cohort came in second place with a design of a snowman and snowwoman sunbathing in the snow! They even brought along a newspaper for one to read, and blue food dye to spray on bikini and swim shorts.
I am determined to make the gold snowman even bigger, so you may see me in the dead of night scurrying around the courtyard with a big ball of snow. The ‘snow packing’ problem will be overcome eventually!
All in all, it was a great use of our lunch break. Plenty of fun, a few frozen fingers, but even more smiles!