By Heather Fabritze
Elm Staff Writer
The Washington College Student Events Board hosted a competitive “Guess the Melody” event on Wednesday, Feb. 2 in the Hodson Egg.
The event, which was planned by the SEB Special Committee, started at 7:30 p.m. and lasted an hour.
A member of the SEB staff played a three second-long sample of a song from the event’s playlist, and the first person in the room to raise their hand and correctly identify the song’s title would receive a point.
If none of the participants knew the song, the amount of the song that was played would increase in intervals of a few seconds. If no one knew the song after 15 seconds had passed, then nobody received a point and the staff would move on to the next song on the playlist.
Many of the songs featured were made up of top hits from the late 2000s and early 2010s, songs that are currently popular on TikTok, and classics that are widely known by the general population.
Some examples included “Starships” by Nicki Minaj, “Say So” by Doja Cat, “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, and “Dancing Queen” by ABBA.
The entire playlist was created together as a collaborative effort between all SEB members.
Some students, like freshman Hartley Meyer, attended the event to “figure out how bad [her] musical knowledge is” and as a way of passing an evening.
“I was walking back to my dorm from my course mentor program and I was like, ‘That might be interesting to do. I got nothing else better to do,’” Meyer said. “I mean, I could do my lab reports but, this sounds kind of fun and a good way to destress.”
The environment was competitive, but with friendly undertones. If a participant named the song within only a second or two of it being played, their success would often be met with applause.
Senior and SEB Special Director Hernan Torres hoped that this event could be used as a way to improve morale after the first few weeks of classes.
“It’s the end of the week,” Torres said. “You know, school’s stressful, everything’s stressful. It’s a nice way to calm down and relax…by having some fun, games, [and] a chance to win a prize.”
When a participant won ten points, they were automatically awarded a $5 Dunkin’ gift card as a prize. There were 10 total gift cards to be won and by the end of the event, the remaining gift cards were given to the highest point scorers.
Junior Torey Simpson, who won the last gift card after a tie-breaker round, attended the event after seeing it advertised on the SEB Instagram.
“Well, I just got here; I’m a transfer student,” Simpson said. “So, I was really hoping to come and meet some people.”
Simpson felt that she’s always been good at “identifying” music but was unsure if she would know contemporary songs..
Meyer felt similarly. Her favorite music genre is country, and she knew that the lack of country on the playlist was going to be “rough.”
Despite their concerns both ended up enjoying the event.
Although SEB’s in-person events are postponed due to the rise in COVID-19 cases, as announced by the SEB Instagram following the event. According to an email sent out by SEB on Feb. 4 the members of SEB want to prioritize the safety of students, staff, and faculty, and are “looking forward to seeing you sometime in the future,” when the number of COVID-19 cases on campus decreases.
Photo by Kayla Thornton
Featured Photo Caption: Students gather in the Hodson Egg to participate in the “Guess the Melody” event, Student Events Board’s first event for the Spring 2022 semester.