Five for five has a nice ring to it.
That’s the number of times The Coast has asked its readers to choose a best university or college in its annual “Best of Halifax” poll — and how many times Dalhousie has emerged the top choice.
This year marks the fourth straight first-place finish for Dalhousie. Readers of the Halifax-based weekly paper first expressed their esteem for Dal by awarding it top billing back in 2005, the year the category was introduced in the poll. The paper then dropped the category for several years before reintroducing it in 2012, when Dal's current winning streak began.
Dal may hold a slight advantage in the poll as Halifax’s largest university, but its mix of academic excellence, research achievement and community impact — from services like Dalplex and the Arts Centre to the contributions of more than 320 student clubs and societies — clearly resonates across the university’s student community and the city of Halifax. While Dalhousie has faced some significant challenges this past year, the university has had many major milestones as well, from Axel Becke’s Herzberg medal win (Canada’s top scientific research award) to the launch of successful new programs in Landscape Architecture and Medical Sciences.
"Dalhousie wouldn't be the same without the support of the Halifax community, and it's great to see our contributions recognized," says Richard Florizone, Dalhousie’s president. "On behalf of the university, my sincere thanks to The Coast’s readers."
Another Dal-linked “Best of Halifax” nod this year went to the T-Room, which earned a silver award for “Best Trivia Night.” That’s a slight dip from the Sexton Campus pub’s first-place showing in last year’s poll. (It finished second to Rogue's Roost, which recently closed its doors.) But with five golds and two silvers over the past seven years, it’s clear there’s a lot of love for the T-Room's trivia night, which happens every Friday evening starting at 9:30 p.m.
“It’s the only trivia in town on a Friday night, so it definitely has a different feel to it than a weekday trivia,” says Stan Selig, who has been co-hosting trivia at the venue for about eight years now. “People probably have a little more fun on a weekend night.”
Other Dal connections to pull out wins: the Student Union Building's Pete's ToGoGo won gold in "Campus Eats," with the Loaded Ladle finishing second. The Dal-hosted CKDU 88.1 FM won gold for "Best Radio Station" while South House took home a bronze award for "Best Activist Organization."
Check out the full “Best of Halifax” results on The Coast’s website.