by Andrew J. Prehmus ‘08
Reprinted courtesy of The Hampden-Sydney Tiger

The completion of the freshman Honor Court elections this past month marked the end of the second installment of the semester-long Gentleman’s Cup competition between freshman halls here at Hampden-Sydney College.  This year’s winners were the men from the two lower floors of Cushing Hall, First Passage, who were organized under the supervision of their Resident Advisor, Jonathan Hunolt ’08.  Congratulations gentlemen on a job well done.

Although it is currently in its second year of existence, the Cup receives less attention than some other activities on campus and, therefore, might not be known to all the members of the community.  Allow me to explain how it works.  Under the rules governing the Cup, first-year residents earn points for their hall teams by getting involved on campus during the fall semester and the first weeks of the spring semester.  For the purpose of the competition, the various opportunities for involvement are divided into four categories: athletic, social, leadership, and campus participation.  Men can earn points in areas such as involvement on varsity or intramural teams, by joining clubs or fraternities, running for or holding student government offices, or by participating in campus entertainment productions.

The first Gentleman’s Cup competition was announced during freshman orientation of the 2006-2007 school year by Wesley Julian ’08, Jim Gresham ’08, and Watson Mulkey ’08, who proudly bristled his extra-thick rusty beard and Bic-shaved his head for the occasion.  In a humorous introductory video presentation, several seasoned Hampden-Sydney veterans collaborated to welcome the incoming freshman class and to describe what they envisioned becoming a unifying, year-long inter-hall competition.  The ultimate goal of what that orientation team dubbed “The Gentleman’s Cup” was to unify freshmen halls under the supervision of their resident advisor and to get the newest members of campus involved as quickly as possible in the plethora of rewarding activities the College offers.

Now that the second year of competition has come to a close, we are evaluating the merits and faults of the Cup.  Working on the proposition that people care most about the things they spend their time doing, the original concept looked to combat student apathy.  The Gentleman’s Cup rewards involvement on campus, regardless of skill levels in a particular area. The individuals who stretched their comfort zones to contribute to campus life received points for their halls while also benefiting personally from the time spent away from the video games, instant messaging, and cell phone calls that dominate much of our time while we are in College. Although the Gentleman’s Cup may be suffering from the very thing it was designed to reduce - apathy - its presence on campus marks a creative effort on the part of current students to keep future students concerned about Hampden-Sydney and deserves our applause.

Thank you to all the gentlemen who participated in this year’s competition for continuing to work to keep Hampden-Sydney men interested and involved in the College, and a special commendation to the resident members and advisors of the halls mentioned in this chart in order of their place in this year’s Cup.