Katherine Schaefer
Special for The State News

Laura Portwood-Stacer, a telecommunication, information and media studies senior, came up with the idea for Geek Week last year.

"The idea came because fraternities and sororities do Greek Week and that is all about service, so I thought, 'Let's celebrate being not as cool as them,'" she said.

Geek Week was created to give all Honors College students the chance to explore their inner dork, she said. Throughout the week, members of the college were also able to visit Abrams Planetarium, compete in a bowling tournament, host an open mic and attend a movie night.

"Quiz Bowl is the quintessential dorky activity that almost all the kids that come into the Honors College have done in high school," Portwood-Stacer said.

Nine student teams participated in the Friday night event. The first team to reach 10 points was the winner.

Throughout the night, teams went through single elimination rounds, answering questions from Trivial Pursuit.

After about an hour of brain-busting competition, the final team, Axis of Evil, was named the student champion and went on to compete against the Honors College professors. The team consisted of zoology senior Aric Hall, history junior Jeff Kersten, history junior Bill Levine and computer science senior Lawrence Judd.

Three of the four members of the team competed in last year's bowl and won.

Levine said the team came back this year to defend its champion title.

"We felt we were going to do well, but were nervous about the other competitors because it felt like a strong feel," Kersten said. "Our main concern was getting past the first round."

During the final round of competition, the intensity pulsated throughout the room when the professors and students were tied.

The final question went to economics Professor Charles Ballard, who won the game for the faculty.

"I had a really good time, and I would do it again if I was asked," he said.