The Masque and Gavel Club has returned from the Harvard tournament, held in Boston, Massachusetts in a week with record-breaking lows.
The team left late on Friday and returned late on Tuesday. In the four days they were there, the city of Boston below zero temperatures, a first for many of the Arizona natives.
“It was definitely different than tournaments in Arizona, but I loved the snow,” sophomore Erin Granillo said. “At least some of the time. I brought lots of jackets and winter-weather clothing, but even with that it was still pretty cold.”
On Saturday there was a full-blown blizzard that severely hindered competition.
“One day of the tournament was cancelled due to a blizzard and rounds were removed entirely to keep the tournament going,” sophomore Ben Pope said.
Despite this, senior Fargo Tbakhi and junior Tess Green advanced to quarterfinals in Dramatic Interpretations and Original Oratory respectively.
When it was clear the majority of the team would have little to do on the later days of competition, the members turned to other pursuits.
“Outside of a building we were near there was an eight-foot snow drift and Bob (Chen, sophomore) decided it would be great fun to create a snow cave,” Pope said. “After an hour or so he finished his snow fortress but his clothes were frozen stiff.”
While Chen was getting in touch with his non-existent Inuit heritage, the rest of the team was honoring an ancient Charger custom.
“There is a team tradition of throwing the team president into the snow,” Granillo said. “This year’s president is Fargo. A couple members of the team tricked him into going to the third floor, where there was a door to a courtyard full of snow. Everyone else was waiting and we eventually were able to throw him into the snow.”
“I took it with grace and style,” Tbakhi said.
“He put up such a fight!” Granillo said. “It took several minutes and quite a few people, but he eventually ended up in the snow.”
The underclassmen, undaunted by the snow, expressed their desire to return next year.