IU Survivor pits dorms against each other

Water splashed and a plastic bottle flew through the air as 20 students battled to collect Tupperware floating in the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center pool at the Student Recreational Sports Center.\nThe Tupperware Bucket Dump was one round of the IU Survivor competition sponsored by the Residence Halls Association Sunday at the SRSC. Competing students had to collect Tupperware floating all around the pool in a plastic bucket without ever holding onto the Tupperware.\nSophomore Subhashini Prasad, who is a big fan of CBS's "Survivor," spent two months organizing the five-round event based on the popular television show. \n"My friend and I were on the same floor in Ashton-Johnston and came up with the idea and the events," Prasad said. "We wanted something that was mentally and physically challenging but also showed teamwork."\nFour teams consisting of five members each represented residence halls Willkie, Collins, Teter and Eigenmann and competed in events that involved trivia, puzzle solving and speed.\n"For round three, (the teams) had to spell words out of the phrase 'Fear is unknown,'" Prasad said. "The Eigenmann team made 136 words."\nOther contests favored physical activities, such as the Tupperware event, which included swimming, and a relay event in which participants made a basket out of newspaper and ran back and forth holding water bottles.\nJunior and Willkie team member Jordan Conover said he particularly enjoyed the Tupperware round.\n"I was a swimmer in high school for one year, and I've just swam all my life," he said. "It puts me in the spring mode."\nOther competitors liked the difficulty of the swimming round.\n"The pool was more challenging, and a lot more teamwork went into it," said freshman Robyn Behnke, who competed for Eigenmann. "We struggled, but everyone did a good job."\nAfter each round, IU Survivor reduced points from one team instead of voting a team out of the competition like the TV show does. This method involved strategy among the teams because they voted on who should lose the points.\n"It's a really tough competition," Behnke said during the fourth round. "We're in third place right now, but we're right behind the other two teams."\nWith a total score of 1206 points, Eigenmann ultimately won first place, receiving a trophy and $150. Willkie (1054), Collins (1052) and Teter (680) won second, third and fourth place, respectively. \nBehnke said she entered the competition because it sounded like fun but that "prizes are always appealing."\nConover said the whole event was worthwhile, even though Willkie couldn't pull out the win.\n"It was a very cool experience," Conover said. "It was a chance to hang out with my friends early on a Sunday morning."\n-- Contact staff writer Ashley Rhodebeck at arhodebe@indiana.edu.