Drew students competed against chemistry professors and their peers at a “Family Feud”-style event hosted by the Drew University Chemistry Society this past Tuesday. Students and professors guessed the most popular answers to survey questions, and a team of seniors vied for the ultimate prize: pieing the chemistry professors in the face.
In each round, two teams were given a prompt such as “name something that has the word super in it” or “name something people put on top of a salad.” These prompts had been sent out to students in a Google form before the event. The top four to eight answers from the survey were obscured on the game board and revealed as participants guessed them correctly, with answers that were most frequently given awarded more points.
Each round started with a face-off in which one person from each team tried to guess the top answer. The teammates of the person who guessed the most popular answer then had the opportunity to guess the remaining answers one at a time. Guesses that were not on the game board caused the teams to gain a strike. After three strikes, the opposing team had the chance to guess and steal the points for the round.
The event was structured so that two teams of students competed against each other for two rounds. The team that earned the most points in total then competed against a team of six chemistry professors dressed in matching lab coats. The first bracket consisted of two teams of general chemistry students, and the second bracket consisted of two teams of sophomores and juniors. Although the professors won against the sophomores and juniors, they failed to beat the general chemistry students.
The highlight of the event was when one team of seniors, distinguished by their matching blue shirts, faced off against the professors for three rounds. The winners of this portion of the competition could pie the losers in the face. Attracted to the event by the promise of pieing their professors, the seniors soon discovered that their confidence had been misplaced as the professors proved to be victorious.
After the seniors’ massive disappointment, spectators and competitors headed outside to watch the professors enjoy their winnings. Wearing trash bags to minimize the mess, the seniors showed no resistance as the professors smushed paper plates of whipped cream in their faces.
Dr. Andrea Lee viewed the event as an opportunity to build community between students and professors. “In the buildup leading to the event, there was such a buzz about who would get to pie whom in the face between the seniors and the professors. I had the utmost confidence in our team of professors that we would pull out the win together,” Lee said.
Lee also enjoyed pieing the seniors, stating, “Getting to pie the seniors in the face has been one of my favorite memories as a professor so far. I made sure that I put extra whipped cream on the pies that I got to throw.”
According to Drew University Chemistry Society president Luisa Ospina (‘23), the event was inspired by the chemistry department’s “The Price is Right” event earlier in the semester. “I wanted to do an event welcome to everyone while also giving the amazing chemistry department a chance to participate and compete in a fun way with their students. It was super fun seeing how excited the students team and the professors were,” Ospina said. She hopes that Drew University Chemistry Society will continue hosting this event in future years with the additional round of alumni competing against professors.Make sure to follow @drewducs on Instagram for updates on more Drew University Chemistry Society events. Also be sure to attend STEM on the Field—a picnic and de-stress event co-hosted by Drew University Chemistry Society and Drew’s other STEM clubs—outside the Hall of Sciences on Tuesday, April 25 from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Abigail Goldman is a first-year majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology.
