‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Plays at Yale

NEW HAVEN—The lucky undergrad who emerged from the eager masses to represent Harvard on a special “College Championship” episode of “Jeopardy!” got her moment in front of the blue screens this weekend, competing at Yale against 14 other college students from around the country.

Mary N. Naam ’05 battled for a spot in the semifinal round, where she would have a chance to compete for a $50,000 cash prize, a $50,000 scholarship, a custom-made trophy and a brand new $40,000 Volvo S60R.

The second-place winner will receive at least $25,000, the third place contestant $15,000, semifinalists $5,000, and the rest—even those who do not make it to the semifinals—will win $2,500.

In order to attend the filming of the event, which will air in November, The Crimson agreed not to publish the name of the winners.

Yale is the first Ivy League school to host the “Jeopardy! College Championship,” said executive producer Harry Friedman, a fact which New Haven Mayor John DeStefano took pride in.

“I think it’s cool. I think that this gives a sense of what [Yale] is becoming—more exciting, perhaps a little offbeat,” DeStefano said before the competition. “I hope the Yale guy wins, or else everybody else’s car is going to be towed,” he joked.

The contestants did not officially meet each other until the day of the first competition. Although most were a bit jittery before the contest got underway, they did not seem to care too much about the outcome.

“These people are all very well read and knowledgeable, so I’m sure the competition will be pretty stiff. But I’m very glad to have just made it this far,” said Rice University contestant Joshua Perkins.

Most contestants said they didn’t prepare at all for the competition.

Yalie Robert Schrum, Naam, Perkins and Wake Forest’s representative James Fitzpatrick III attributed their advancement this far to their good memories, eclectic and wide scope of knowledge, and avid reading of newspapers, magazines, books, and other media.

Some contestants were already planning what to do with the money should they win.

“I’m going to get a really nice stereo system, and probably invest the rest,” said Perkins.

Naam said that if she wins, she will have to fight for her claim over the money with her roommates, as they first persuaded her to try out for Jeopardy.

When Schrum and Naam were “randomly drawn” to compete against each other in the first game some speculated that the Harvard-Yale matchup had been orchestrated.

When asked whether the drawings were truly random, Friedman, the Jeopardy director, was elusive.

“Let me put it this way—we would have passed up a wonderful opportunity to extend that rivalry had we missed the chance,” said Friedman, who declined further comment on the topic.

During the actual taping of the show, the show announcer asked Yale students to stop applauding whenever Schrum answered a question correctly.

There were some glitches in filming the show.

Some were caused by boisterous Yale students, others by unexpected responses to questions.

The show judges were thrown into 15 minutes of turmoil as Schrum identified the equation “y=4x+7” as a first order equation. The given answer was “linear,” and the show stopped for 15 minutes while the home base of Jeopardy in California was called to verify the answer. Judges ultimately concluded that a first order equation was indeed a linear one.

Naam was penalized for incorrectly answering that internet lingo “BBS” stood for “be back soon” when the Jeopardy answer was “bulletin board system.” She was later awarded the points back when judges verified that “be back soon” was indeed a valid interpretation.

In between such glitches in the filming, announcer Alex Trebek fielded questions from the audience.

Trebek narrated several memorable moments in his 20 seasons with Jeopardy—ranging from a contestant’s on-air marriage proposal to a student’s collapse following a self-imposed liquid diet intended to improve their on-camera appearance.