Students will put their minds and bodies to the test in a race to the gold in the iSchool’s BeIT Olympics next month.

The School of Information Studies’ postponed the games until March due to a lack of student participation, said project manager Bakari Lacet-Dossiere. In March, there will be weeklong activities for iSchool teams hosted by the BeIT student organization. This is the very first Olympic event the iSchool has put on for undergraduate students and it will potentially tie in with the theme of March Madness, Lacet-Dossiere said.

“The main point of each event for students is to get as engaged as possible,” said Joey Creighton, vice president of BeIT, “sort of getting them involved inside the iSchool outside of the actual classroom.”

Each team in the BeIT Olympics will be made up of four to five people competing for a grand prize given out at the end of the week. The individual events include a photo scavenger hunt, question trivia, a viral video challenge and “team Olympics,” according to the email sent out to all iSchool undergraduate students.

Members of each team can be present for each of the events, but don’t have to, said Lacet-Dossiere, a senior information management and technology major. The event is flexible to students’ schedules. All members must be present on the last day to complete the obstacle course.

“A lot of the events that are in the iSchool Olympics have to do with both physical and mental, so it’ll stimulate with both sides of that,” said Creighton, a junior information management and technology major.

He said each semester, BeIT hosts different events that are socially, academically or service-based. The organization’s goal is to foster community among iSchool undergraduate students, said Julie Walas, the iSchool undergraduate programs manager.

This semester’s BeIT Olympics were planned to coincide with the games happening in Sochi. Because this is the first Olympics, BeIT is unsure what the turnout will be, Creighton said.

“I think whether it’s five teams or 25 teams, it’ll be fun for everybody,” Creighton said. “They’ll all get the experience of competing and having a good time.”

If students react well to the Olympics event and activities, BeIT is more than likely to continue it with every Olympic year or make it an annual event in the iSchool, Creighton said.

“We like to make traditions here,” Walas said. “Some of the events they do are really focused here at the iSchool. If the students like it, we’re definitely going to repeat it.”

At the end of the games, there will be a closing ceremony with gold, silver and bronze medals, Walas said. The prize for first place is movie tickets and “swag bags” filled with iSchool tools and gear for each member of the team.

Warren Huynh, a senior information management and technology major, said he is still contemplating on participating in the games. Taking part in the event would enhance his overall Syracuse University experience, he said.

Said Huynh: “I think it’s appropriate to learn a little about my own school before I graduate.”

Published on February 19, 2014 at 1:35 am

Contact Jackie: jmfrere@syr.edu | @jackie_frere