Alexander Hamilton Society Trivia Night Review

By Krysten Young, MPIA 2014

The Alexander Hamilton Society Trivia Night fundraiser on October 17th has set the bar for the new chapter’s events. Held on the second floor of popular downtown Bryan bar, Murphy’s Law, Trivia Night was fun for all who attended. Festivities kicked off at 7:30 with upbeat music DJ’d by Bush School student leader and Ambassador, Brandon Pichanick. Before the games began, attendees gathered their trivia teams, indulged in a signature drink offered at the bar – The Alexander Hamilton – and playfully smack-talked their opponents and friends.

Teams racked their brains to uncover the answers to the top-notch questions arranged and read by the Bush School’s own Curt Bistoff and Gabriel Vanderhey. Several bouts of mind-stretching trivia competition and a few refills later, all in attendance had the opportunity to win door prizes, including Bush School swag and delicious homemade baked goods. The night’s winning team, “The Original Aaron Burr’s Gun,” pictured below, prevailed in the end, winning after two rounds of tough questions across a range of topics. The winners took home the grand prize including sought-after Bush School apparel and snazzy drink koozies.

The Winners showing off their spoils: (left to right) Trey Sparks, Candice Jackson, Vina Rodriguez, Bryan Gray, and Cait Stadler The Winners showing off their spoils: (left to right) Trey Sparks, Candice Jackson, Vina Rodriguez, Bryan Gray, and Cait Stadler

The new chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society at Texas A&M is working hard to kick their introductory year off with a bang. Led and run by primarily Bush School students, the organization’s purpose is to host panel discussions and debates with top-tier speakers on current national security, economic and foreign affairs topics. For their premier event, AHS is bringing Dr. Aaron Friedberg from Princeton University to sit on a panel with the Bush School’s Dr. Norris and Dr. Layne to discuss US responses to China’s rise. The panel will take place November 6th in the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building Auditorium on the A&M campus from 6-7:30pm.

To make events must-sees, AHS seeks out appropriate and appealing locations that are able to accommodate several hundred people, but these locations come at a cost. The fundraiser brought in enough money to cover the location for the upcoming China discussion panel. Trivia Night was deemed a great success by exceeding initial fundraising expectations. Of course, fundraising is an ongoing process and AHS will continue their fundraising efforts to ensure that all their events this semester and next are successes. AHS’s next fundraising endeavor is a bake sale on October 30th, from 10 to 4 in the Allen Building foyer.

If the prizes at Trivia Night are any indication of the delicious baked goods that will be sold at the bake sale, everyone should follow their noses to the Allen building to satisfy their Halloween sweet tooth and support their friends and colleagues in AHS. With all the money raised through the October fundraising events, the China panel during the first week of November is sure to be time well spent. Everyone is welcome and food will be provided after the discussion, so I hope to see you all there!