If the idea of being able to punt soccer balls at your professors sounds appealing to you, you’re really going to like this.
And if, as a teacher, you’ve had it with the kid who comes in late to every class and can never hand a paper in on time, here’s your chance to look them in the eye and whisper DJ Khaled’s infamous phrase, “you played yourself.”
This is not a dream. This is what could happen if you sign up for the first ever Annual Faculty vs Student Soccer Game this Saturday at 3pm in Prospect Park.
With nine students and five faculty members signed up, event organizer Caveh Zahedi admitted to being skeptical about the faculty’s chances of winning.
“If I were betting on the game, I’d put my money on the students to win,” said Zahedi, an Assistant Professor of Screen Studies at Lang.
Zahedi saw the match as a way to increase community in the liberal arts division of the university.
“I had the idea and shared it with one of my students, Brittany Lizotte, who offered to take on the organizational part on the student side of things,” said Zahedi, who will be the captain of the faculty team.
He said that participants and attendees can expect “to have fun and to reverse the usual hierarchy and power dynamics that are difficult to eliminate from teacher/student relationships.”
Organizers are aware that finals week might result in limited attendance, but decided it was “a good time in terms of celebrating the end of the academic year.”
On the student side, Justin Ringsby will be starring as captain. However, students might not want to be too confident going in, since Dean Stephanie Browner has already “enthusiastically signed up” for the match.
As to whether President Van Zandt will be hitting the field this weekend, “I hope so,” said Zahedi.