C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y RECORD February 9, 2001 3

PEOPLEON CAMPUS

Journalism School Student Crowned 5-Time Jeopardy Champion

From Dawn to Decadence:500 Years of Western CulturalLife, written by ProfessorEmeritus and Provost EmeritusJacques Barzun, CC'27, hasbeen named a finalist in thecriticism category of theNational Book Critics CircleAward, reported The NewYork Times on 1/30/01.Barzun's 800-page survey ofrecent Western civilization isone of five nominees for thecriticism category.

David Means, MFA Writ-ing '87, also received a nomi-nation. His Assorted FireEvents, a short story collec-tion, was nominated in the fic-tion category.

The winners for the awards'five categories, which alsoinclude biography, autobiogra-phy, general nonfiction andpoetry, will be announced onMarch 12.

Ponisseril Somasundaran, amember of the faculty of the FuFoundation School of Engi-neering and Applied Sciencesince 1970, has been elected tothe Russian Academy of Natur-al Sciences—the association ofscientists well known for theirsuccesses in the fields ofphysics, mathematics, chem-istry, metallurgy and other nat-ural sciences.

Among the foreign membersof the Academy, there are morethan 20 Nobel Prize laureates.

Somasundaran was named Lavon Duddleson Krumb Profes-sor in 1983 and was chairman ofthe Henry Krumb School from1988 to 1992 and of the depart-ment of chemical engineering,material science and miningfrom 1992 to 1997 and is cur-rently director of the NationalScience Foundation IUCR Cen-ter for Advanced Studies in Sur-factants/Langmuir Center forColloids and Interfaces.

Michael Kirschenheiter,associate professor at Colum-bia's Business School, is oneof the first professors to have acourse online by working withUNEXT, reported The Chroni-cle of Higher Education.

UNEXT is a company thatprovides online businesscourses for institutions such asCarnegie Mellon, StanfordUniversity, the London Schoolof Economics, University ofChicago and Columbia.

his opponents were still scrollingthrough almanacs and dictionar-ies just minutes before the show,he figured cramming would hin-der his concentration.

"I thought it would be morestressful to study. I just went incold," Arnone says.

In preparation for the chal-lenge, Arnone adopted the phi-losophy that would eventuallycarry him through five victories."I told my friends and family Ihad to have a ‘good vibes only’policy,” he says. Arnone wantedto maintain a mood of optimismrather than competitiveness.“For me, the fact that I won isthe greatest testament to thepower of a positive attitude."

Of course it was more thangood vibes that kept Arnone ontop. "I played very aggressively.Knowledge gets you there butstrategy keeps you there," hesays. Arnone adds that patienceand composure are also two nec-essary keys to winning. "Youdon't guess," he notes, "especial-ly out of fear of needing moremoney. Most of the answers I gotwrong were guesses."

Facing the cameras and studioaudience was an opportunityArnone actually enjoyed. "I'venever had a problem getting upin front of people," he says.Rather, he relished the adventureof appearing on the show. "Ithought to myself, 'I'm some-

where I've always wanted to be,'"he says.

Playing the game, he notes,requires a surprising degree ofstrength and endurance. "It's avery physical, intense thing.You're standing still the wholetime, but you're using all yourenergy," he says. "Every muscleis poised."

A former reporter for the Tren-ton Times and the Pennington(NJ) Post, Arnone acquired muchof his trivia knowledge throughyears of writing on diverse sub-jects from science to geography,to politics and entertainment. The29-year-old, who majored in lib-eral arts as an undergraduate atNotre Dame, says appearing onJeopardy was always a dream,but one he hadn't pursued until arandom evening last April.

"I used to play at home on thecouch. Often I'd do better than thepeople on the show," he says. "Ona whim, I went to the Web site."

After filling out some basicinformation on the Jeopardysite, Arnone was then invited toWashington, D.C. in May totake a test. Like all potentialplayers, he needed to answercorrectly a minimum of 35 outof 50 fill-in questions. Arnonepassed the exam, and subse-quently became one of 4,000possible contestants hoping tofill only 400 spots available onthe show each year.

By the time autumn arrived,Arnone had put the prospect inthe back of his mind, insteadconcentrating on his heavyworkload as a new graduate stu-dent. Then, in October, he got thephone call that would change hislife. He was offered a spot on theNov. 1 show. Like all of thegame's contestants, he wouldhave to pay his own way to LosAngeles, but Arnone was morethan ready to head west. Hewould go as far as his dreamrequired.

Returning home a championhas been an unusual experience."I've never been the focus of thiskind of attention before," saysArnone, who adds that it’s stillfunny when well-wishers stophim in the grocery store. "Peopleare talking about it," he says."They're all coming out of thewoodwork."

As a five-time winner, Arnonewill get to compete in Jeopardy'sTournament of Champions,which will be played at the endof the summer.

He plans to implement thesame strategies that helped himsucceed in his first five victories."It's a matter of relaxing, listen-ing carefully to the questions andtrying to get into the zone," hesays.

And, of course, he'll followone of his most reliable mantras:"Don't think too much."

BY JASON HOLLANDER

Michael Arnone, a student in the School of Journalism’s New Media Program, standing with Jeopardyhost Alex Trebek, left. Arnone collected $54,499 and a new Chevrolet Suburban as a five-time championon the game show. He will return to play in the Tournament of Champions at the end of the summer.

Michael Arnone wasmentally and physi-cally exhausted. He

had already amassed $40,899 inthe first three games, but thiscontest, his fourth in two hours,had been more taxing than theothers. Even the carefully styledpart in his hair was somewhatdisplaced. Despite possessing aslight lead, Arnone's opponentswere both within $1,500 of himgoing into the decisive battle:Final Jeopardy.

Arnone had $5,400 to gamblewith in the crucial round, where afinal bet is placed on one lastquestion. Confident with hisknowledge of the category "Tele-vision"—he is an admitted TVjunkie—Arnone had put it all onthe line, betting double or noth-ing and assuring himself victoryif he answered correctly.

The Journalism School studentbraced himself as the questionwas presented by Jeopardy hostAlex Trebek: "An allusion to theArabian Nights, this show invitesviewers to open a magic door toknowledge."

Arnone stood motionless, hisface stoic, revealing nothing tohis opponents or Trebek. Whenhis answer was finallyunveiled—Sesame Street—thestudio audience exploded withapplause and cheer. The New Jer-sey native was suddenly one winaway from achieving the distin-guished title, "Five-time Jeop-ardy Champion." But first, hewould get a much-needed rest.The show would not tape againfor six days.

Upon returning, Arnone man-aged to win his fifth and finalgame by his most narrow margin.He took home a total cash prizeof $54,499 and a brand newChevrolet Suburban (all five-time winners receive a new car).

He attributes his success on theshow to keeping the experiencein perspective at all times. "I just-went out there and had fun. Thegame was always a game," hesays. "The times I played mostpoorly were when I stoppedthinking it was."

The aspiring international cor-respondent never studied for thecompetition. Although some of

The 1950-51 men’s basketball team went 21-0 in the regular season, winning the Eastern League (precur-sor to the Ivy League) and heading to the NCAA tournament. At center, Athletic Director John Reeves,left, shakes hands with former men’s Head Coach Lou Rossini.

Undefeated Lion Squad of 1950-51 Honored At Center Court in LevienHalf a century after posting a

21-0 regular season record andlanding a spot in an NCAA tour-nament that featured a field ofonly eight, the 1950-51 men’s bas-ketball team returned to Columbiato be honored in Levien Gym onFeb. 3 during halftime of theLions’ matchup against Harvard.

The 1950-51 team’s only losscame in a first-round NCAA tour-nament game against Illinois.Lou Rossini, the team’s headcoach, made an appearance thatwas inspirational to both his for-mer players and fans in atten-dance. Rossini, a 27-year-oldassistant at the time, was calledon to lead the Lions in 1950 afterformer Head Coach Gordon Rid-ings suffered a heart attack.

Columbia went on to defeatHarvard that night, 66-55, fortheir fourth straight win, eveningtheir Ivy record at 3-3.

PHOTO BY JOHN SMOCK

Ponisseril Somasundaran