You could cheekily say it’s Dal “Coasting” on popularity… but for those in the university that continue to get recognized by readers of Halifax’s weekly, there’s no resting on their laurels.
For the third straight year since The Coast resurrected its “Best University / College” category of its "Best of Halifax" poll, Dalhousie came out on top, garnering the most votes from readers. For a city with several great universities, that’s definitely saying something.
“Post-secondary education really distinguishes Halifax as an exceptional city,” said President Richard Florizone. “And great cities, in turn, help distinguish and make universities great, so it’s wonderful to see Coast readers choosing to celebrate Dal in the Best of Halifax poll each year.”
Top-notch trivia
One aspect of the university that’s a Best of Halifax regular is the T-Room, Sexton Campus’ student pub. For the sixth straight year, the T-Room, located in the gymnasium building, ranked in two separate categories. It earned silver for “Best Student Hang” and won the gold prize for “Best Trivia Night” — the fifth time in six years it’s finished first in the category.
Greg Wright, the DSU’s director of licensed operations, credits the success of the T-Room’s weekly Friday trivia to its long-time host, Stan Selig. San has earned both an undergraduate and masters degree in Engineering from Dal and has been hosting Trivia Night for eight years. He was even the co-manager of the bar during his master’s degree. It’s clear when speaking to him that he is incredibly fond of the T-Room and has a lot of loyalty to its wonderful trivia night.
A packed house for trivia. (Jeff Burton photo)
Stan’s truly left his mark on the trivia format. When he began, it involved the hosts simply reading questions from a piece of paper. Since then, a slide show was added, music questions were incorporated, and regular, quirky segments became a feature. He’s even gone so far as to reach out to Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings to create a “Challenge Ken Jennings” formatted trivia night.
So what’s kept him around for so long? Selig attributes it to the audience.
“There’s a very interesting loyalty that we have with the fans,” he explains. “When people are back in town I get text messages checking to make sure that trivia night is on.”
That’s devotion — and Stan is every bit as loyal to his devoted trivia-goers. Check out the T-Room’s trivia every Friday night, starting at 9:30 p.m.
Outstanding faculty
Another familiar face in this year’s Best of Halifax survey was the Fountain School of Performing Arts’ Roberta Barker, who finished third in the Best Professor category. Dr. Barker, who has won the category several times in the past, was also this year’s recipient Dalhousie Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching.
“She’s a great professor because she has this natural ability to make the topic interesting,” says fourth-year Theatre student Jodie Robia. “She gets excited about your ideas and she never puts them down, instead helping you to develop them and show what you truly know about the subject. She is the greatest supporter and teacher I have had and she goes above and beyond to help you succeed.”
See the full Best of Halifax results at the Coast’s website.