In observance of Black History Month, the Marshall Center organized a trivia night on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. in Emerson Dining Hall. The contestants were divided into groups of two to four people. The five teams that competed included Les Groupe Francais, New Yorkers, Book Lovers, Max Skillet and the Clarkets.
The trivia game consisted of four rounds that centered around black history and culture, Wheaton College Black History, science and exploration, music and art and history. The trivia questions ranged from asking what year Wheaton matriculated its first black student and what the first on campus theme house for men of color was to identifying a pop culture song by Rihanna. “Learning about when was the first time Wheaton accepted black students – it was 1909. It’s a lot earlier than what I thought it was. [It] surprised me, things like that,” Steven Flowers ’20 said.
The first three rounds saw Team New Yorkers leading, with Tam Book Lovers following closely behind in second place. However, in the final results, Team New Yorkers secured the victory, team Max Skillet came in second and Team Les Groupe Francais came in third. The prizes included “per person gift cards to CVS, Amazon and Target.”
Anik Mutsuddy ’20 of team Max Skillet shared that the trivia had left the group more enriched and appreciative of black culture. “The first make African American theme house [at Wheaton] was called Tree House, I didn’t know that,” Mutsuddy said.
Regarding the significance of organizing socially conscious events, Flowers said, “I feel it could be better advertised, but it was definitely great to have it,” His teammate, Mutsuddy, said, “It’s a good learning experience. I feel that a lot of people don’t know [the answers to] these questions.”
Wheaton plans to hold more events in honor of Black History Month. “Where are all the black superheroes?” is a discussion scheduled for Feb. 21 about “the importance of representation and role model.” Students are also looking forward to “Black and Gold,” a dance hosted by the Black Students Association (BSA) from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24.