University Chronicle

Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Intermission

Media Credit: Nicole Bock John McCutcheon, a former St. John's student, performs at the Paramount Theatre Saturday. John McCutcheon has produced more than 20 albums.

Media Credit: Nicole Bock Grammy nominated artist John McCutcheon plays the piano and sings at the Paramount Theatre Saturday.

For some people on campus, it is now the busiest and best time of the year. The holidays are over, but KVSC's Trivia Weekend is rapidly approaching.

For those students and community members who are still unsure about what the excitement is all about, Trivia Weekend is a 50-hour long trivia contest that takes place Feb. 8-10 this year.

Teams begin to register in December and can continue to do so up until the event takes place. The earlier a team registers, the more of an advantage it has.

Each year has its own theme. This year's theme is Vote Trivia '08. Questions will be based on all things political, from the past through the present.

Trivia Weekend first started in 1980 with 25 teams. Last year, 80 teams were registered to participate. Thirty-one of those teams played by listening online at kvsc.org from locations out of state.

What many people on campus do not know is the amount of preparation that goes into planning for Trivia Weekend. There is work to be done and an agenda to be planned that consumes time throughout the year.

First is the decision of what the theme should be. The brainstorming process begins in the summer and the options are eventually narrowed down to one. Once the theme is chosen, the poster is designed to start the promotion of Trivia Weekend.

"The poster is a big part of the preparation. We like to put them all over town," said Jo McMullen-Boyer, station manager at KVSC.

Next is the search for sponsors, in particular, food sponsors. Free food and beverages are provided for the volunteers during the weekend and online thank-yous are sent out to the sponsors.

After searching for sponsors is complete, the search for volunteers to help during the chaotic weekend begins.

There is an average of 45-50 volunteers working each hour during the weekend. Volunteers are needed to answer the 24 phone lines, and they are also needed for production and to keep things running smoothly.

Another major part of the preparation for Trivia Weekend is writing the questions. Five people write the trivia questions, with two lead question writers.

"Anything is fair game," said Chad Schmitz, one of the lead question writers for Trivia Weekend. Schmitz first started playing Trivia Weekend in 1986 and has been a question writer for 13 years.

Each person brings their own background, specializations and interests into coming up with the questions. The writing process goes on all year and the questions are tailored to fit the year's theme.

But as the years have passed, the process of question writing has gotten harder.

"Each question has to be web-proofed. Wikipedia is the new evil," Schmitz said. "It used to be Google and YouTube, but teams can actually change the answers they find on Wikipedia."

Last year, Trivia Weekend set a new record with 80 registered teams. This year, KVSC expects to see a similar outcome, or perhaps an even larger turnout than the previous year.

Trivia Weekend is a major event, not only on campus at SCSU, but also in the St. Cloud community and beyond. People who have participated in the past fly in from across the country to help out with the weekend.

"My favorite part is seeing people who have helped out in past years," McMullen-Boyer said. "Alumni come in to help and I usually only get to see these people once a year, so it's always nice to see them again."

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