Students from the BYU Honors Program hosted an event with the BYU Honor Society Sept. 28 for a friendly contest of games.
Ben Stubblefield, BYU senior and member of the Honors Program, is the secretary of the Honors Student Leadership Council and head of the HSLC Inclusion Committee. He planned the Battle of the Brains event with the Honor Society at BYU, otherwise known as Phi Kappa Phi.
The two groups are separate organizations, but both value academics and joined for a night of games and trivia. The participants split into teams and participated in activities like chess, Kahoot trivia and giant Twister, keeping track of which team won each event.
“We’re just trying to make all the BYU [Honors] students feel included for all the activities they go to and also help them be a part of the BYU campus as a larger whole, and that kind of helped spur the idea of this activity,” Stubblefield said.
Former BYU President Earnest L. Wilkinson created the Honors Program in 1960 with the intent to model a liberal arts education with small class sizes and a variety of professors across various disciplines. Although the program has kept this foundation, it has since evolved to be open enrollment and interdisciplinary.
“Honors at BYU isn’t about being harder or more difficult or just for the smart kids,” Honors Program Assistant Director Julie Radle said. “It’s about expanding opportunities for undergraduates to add some breath back in and make meaningful contributions to the world.”
Radle said those interested in the Honors Program should visit their website or the Maeser Building.
HSLC member Mauricio Morales said he appreciates the “platform of support” he has found in the Honors Program. He said he originally joined because he saw that Honors students get a medal as part of their graduation regalia.
“At first I just came for the medal, and then I stayed because of the sense of community,” Morales said.
Emmie Hall, BYU Honors student, had similar feelings. She said she enjoyed the opportunity to meet professors of all different subjects with whom she would otherwise not have the chance to interact.
“It’s cool to be in a space with other people are super ambitious too,” Hall said. “We all are setting our goals high and then having a community who’s ready to help you get there is really awesome.”
The Battle of the Brains attendees painted their faces to identify who was on which team. At the end of the night, the score was tallied and the winner was the Honors Program team.
