Commons Cupdate

Commons Unplugged Victors. Fall Trivia Tournament. The semester nearing its end. Here’s everything you need to know about the Commons Cup as we finish our first semester here at Vanderbilt.

Commons Unplugged Week

October 31st through November 6th, the houses competed against each other to save the most energy. Congratulations to the top three conservationists.

1st Place – Sutherland is in the fight. After a tie with West for the top spot in kickball, Sutherland finally achieved their first solo win. One thing is for sure: this house is not done yet.

2nd Place – Hank is here to stay. This is now the third podium appearance for Common’s largest house – something no other house has yet to do. Hank will be in a great spot going into the latter half of this competition.

3rd Place – Crawford makes their first appearance. After some struggles in the athletic events, Crawford has gotten their name on the board. This should make the the buzz around Commons.

Fall Trivia

On Sunday, all houses met in the Commons Center for a battle of brains. Each house sent two teams (with the exception of East, who only sent one) to compete in a trivia tournament. The following teams placed:

1st Place – East gets a taste of victory. In spite of being the only house to send just one team, East managed to win the whole tournament. While this house is no stranger to the podium, their first gold of the competition should feel nice.

2nd Place – Stambaugh gets in the game. While the beginning of the competition started slow for them, a podium finish in the Trivia event should put Stambaugh back in the game.

3rd Place – Gillette makes a splash. No other house has faced the same set of challenges as this one, yet they have managed to stay afloat. There is just one question moving forward: will they sink or swim?

Final Thoughts

Although there is still some time left in the semester, Trivia was the last fall event for the Commons Cup. Now that we are about half way through the competition, it is a good time to examine how the houses place overall.

First, there appear to be three clear frontrunners: Hank, Sutherland, and East. These are the only three houses to make multiple podium appearances across different categories. However, none of these houses have made every event’s podium (Hank was the longest to hold that title until a loss this past Sunday).

This competition is tight. Eight of the ten houses have at least one podium finish, with a top 3 finish only eluding Murray and Memorial.

Most importantly, much of the information regarding Commons Cup has yet to be released. There is no public information about house performances in the Community Involvement category (making up 20% of the overall scores for the year). There are also ongoing events like the year-long energy conservation which will not be finalized until the end of the year. Finally, there are still plenty of opportunities for the rankings to shift before the end of the year.

So to close my final Commons Cupdate of 2021, I congratulate those who performed well in the first half of this competition and wish the best of luck to every house in the Spring Semester.

*Disclaimer: Daniel Sak, the author of this piece, is the Vice President of Hank Ingram House.

Commons Unplugged Week has begun, several houses have their signature events coming up, and the fall trivia tournament is nearing. This is everything you need to know about the latest developments in the Commons Cup.

Commons Unplugged

On Sunday, Commons Unplugged Week began. This portion of the competition, which runs through Saturday, focuses on sustainability. Each house’s goal is to decrease their energy consumption as much as possible during this week in order to score points for their house. There are also two events this week in which house participation will count towards points: Green Forum and Commons Gardening. On Wednesday night from 7-8PM, the Green Forum – which is a lecture about sustainability – will take place in the Commons Center Multipurpose Room. Gardening will take place on the Commons Center South Patio from 11AM-2PM on Saturday.

House Signature Events

For Commons Cup, each house must hold a special signature event in which participation counts towards Commons Cup points. Here are some of the signature events that have been announced:

November 1st – Gillette hosted a Krispy Kreme night with hot chocolate, cider, tea, and special house merch from 9-10PM.

November 7th – Sutherland will host Suthgiving which includes pie and ice cream, hot cocoa and cider, crafts, and special merch giveaways.

November 10th – Hank will host an ice cream sandwich night with special Baked Bear ice cream sandwiches and other fun activities.

Fall Trivia

The fall trivia tournament will take place Sunday, November 14th from 2-4PM in the Commons Center MPR. Along with the tournament results, house attendance will also count towards Commons Cup points. Contact your house’s president for more information about trivia.

Kickball cut short. No official victor. Commons Unplugged fast approaching. Here’s what you need to know about the latest developments in the Commons Cup.

Kickball Tournament

This past Sunday’s kickball tournament was the most shocking event of this year’s Commons Cup. The ten houses gave everything they had to fight for victory in this second – and final – athletic competition of the Fall Semester. (Don’t worry. There will be more athletic events in the Spring.)

Tournament Overview

The competition began with a fierce battle between Memorial and Gillette that lasted around 40 minutes – twice as long as the standard regulation. Although both teams gave it their all, Memorial edged out in the end with a 6-5 victory. The following game between East and Sutherland was also fought tirelessly, but after a discrepancy regarding the number of outs East had and a subsequent argument with the referees, the game was ended abruptly, handing Sutherland a 6-5 victory.

The second round did not see quite the same level of intensity as the first. It began with West beating Stambaugh 4-2, and was followed by North fending off Murray in a 7-5 victory. The largest story of the second round was the next game between Commons’ largest and smallest houses: Hank and Memorial. Although Memorial was coming off an early win, Hank crushed the house in a decisive 14-2 win. What followed this blowout was the closest game of round two with Sutherland barely holding off Crawford in a tight 6-5 victory.

The semifinals saw a familiar final four to the Ultimate Frisbee Tournament: Hank, North, and West – all semifinalists in ultimate frisbee – were joined by Sutherland to compete for the podium. The first match saw West take an early lead against Hank. While Hank did make a late-game comeback, West maintained the lead, winning in a tight 6-5 victory. The game between North and Sutherland saw the opposite happen with both teams spending most of the game neck-and-neck, and Sutherland then taking a substantial lead late in the game. North was unable to close the gap, and Sutherland won 6-3.

The championship match provided a chaotic end to a chaotic afternoon. The game began with West building a massive 5-0 lead. Sutherland, however, managed to close the gap with a four point rally. Then one of Sutherland’s players suffered a major injury. After some time, the game was declared a tie. Because of this, neither team was awarded first place.

The Podium

1st Place/2nd Place – Sutherland made their presence know. While their performance in Ultimate Frisbee saw them fall short of the semifinals, they did not fall short in kickball. It should be noted that Sutherland won three kickball games before the final match. This number of wins would have been enough for any of the other semifinalists to win the championship outright, but due to Sutherland’s position on the bracket, they needed to win one more game to take home the win. One thing is for sure: Sutherland should not be ignored.

1st Place/2nd Place – West is a force to be reckoned with. Though they barely missed the podium in Ultimate Frisbee, they still were a top team. While the final game ended early, West did hold the lead for the entire game. Don’t be surprised if you see this name on the podium again.

3rd Place – Hank is back for more. The Ultimate Frisbee Champion is the only house to make two podium appearances. Although they fell short of reaching the championship game, Hank still delivered a massive 12 point defeat to Memorial. With its strong performances in both athletic events, this house should be feeling pretty good right now.

Looking Forward: Commons Unplugged

Running from October 31st through November 6th is Commons Unplugged Week. This weeklong series of events focused on helping the environment consists of three major events: Green Activity, Green Forum, and Energy Conservation

Green Activity

This is an event where first-years can get practice working on campus sustainability. Attendance is tracked and counts for points. The details of this year’s Green Activity have yet to be released, but it will take place some time during Commons Unplugged Week. Make sure to be on the lookout for announcements from your house.

Green Forum

This is a lecture on conservation and sustainability that will take place on November 3rd from 7-8PM in the Commons MPR. Attendance is tracked and counts towards Commons Cup.

Energy Conservation

During this week, each house’s energy use will be tracked and compared to that same house’s energy use during Commons Unplugged week in 2019. The goal of each house is to reduce their energy consumption by as much as possible. Points are awarded based on how much energy each house conserves compared to 2019.

*Disclaimer: Daniel Sak, the author of this piece, is the Vice President of Hank Ingram House and was a member of the Hank Ingram kickball team.