You could cheekily say it鈥檚 Dal 鈥淐oasting鈥� on popularity鈥� but for those in the university that continue to get recognized by readers of Halifax鈥檚 weekly, there鈥檚 no resting on their laurels.
For the third straight year since The Coast resurrected its 鈥淏est University / College鈥� category of its , AV俱乐部 came out on top, garnering the most votes from readers. For a city with several great universities, that鈥檚 definitely saying something.
鈥淧ost-secondary education really distinguishes Halifax as an exceptional city,鈥� said President Richard Florizone. 鈥淎nd great cities, in turn, help distinguish and make universities great, so it鈥檚 wonderful to see Coast readers choosing to celebrate Dal in the Best of Halifax poll each year.鈥�
Top-notch trivia
One aspect of the university that鈥檚 a Best of Halifax regular is the T-Room, Sexton Campus鈥� student pub. For the sixth straight year, the T-Room, located in the gymnasium building, ranked in two separate categories. It earned silver for 鈥淏est Student Hang鈥� and won the gold prize for 鈥淏est Trivia Night鈥� 鈥� the fifth time in six years it鈥檚 finished first in the category.
Greg Wright, the DSU鈥檚 director of licensed operations, credits the success of the T-Room鈥檚 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鈥檚 degree. It鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 even gone so far as to reach out to Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings to create a 鈥淐hallenge Ken Jennings鈥� formatted trivia night.
So what鈥檚 kept him around for so long? Selig attributes it to the audience.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a very interesting loyalty that we have with the fans,鈥� he explains. 鈥淲hen people are back in town I get text messages checking to make sure that trivia night is on.鈥�
That鈥檚 devotion 鈥� and Stan is every bit as loyal to his devoted trivia-goers. Check out the T-Room鈥檚 trivia every Friday night, starting at 9:30 p.m.
Outstanding faculty
Another familiar face in this year鈥檚 Best of Halifax survey was the Fountain School of Performing Arts鈥� 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鈥檚 recipient AV俱乐部 Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a great professor because she has this natural ability to make the topic interesting,鈥� says fourth-year Theatre student Jodie Robia. 鈥淪he 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.鈥�
See the full at the Coast鈥檚 website.