HALIFAX, N.S. — Each year, Dalhousie University professors meet and interact with a new generation of students. As time goes by, George Gabriel Ezell, a commerce professor at Dal, says it’s become harder for him and his colleagues to relate to “these noobs.”
In an attempt to connect more with his students, Ezell has decided to host a Fortnite tournament instead of a midterm for his COMM 1010 class.
The tournament is a ranked Zero Build game, and students can earn points through a multitude of criteria. This includes factors such as who has the most OG emotes and skins and who can get the most kills. Students will receive a bonus 10 per cent on their midterm if they hit a no-scope snipe on another student.
The Mackerel asked students from Dr. G.G. Ez’s class about their opinions on this new form of testing. Responses are divisive.
“This is so fucking lit bro,” says Bradley Donaldson, a second-year commerce student. “I have been training for this shit since I was 10, dude. Me and the boys are gonna crush this.”
On the other hand, Tarquin Tarquineas says it’s not right.
“Professors shouldn’t base such large amounts of my grade on such an incomprehensibly benign test of one’s ability to press buttons.”
Notably, Tarquineas is one of the few business students to care about his grades. Due to this unusual trait, it’s likely he’ll be kicked out of the commerce program by the end of next month.
Meanwhile, Tina Chandler says she’s getting carpal tunnel from all the practice.
The Mackerel also reached out to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney for his thoughts on this groundbreaking new use of his game.
“This is exactly what the game needed: a bunch of young adults forced to compete via our game,” he says. “To capitalize on it, we are going to release the brand new Dal Tiger limited-edition Fortnite skin. You can find it in the shop at 8 p.m. ADT on Nov. 6 for just 1500 V-Bucks. Great student deal.”
The midterm is proving to be quite the blessing for Dal’s commerce program. Since Ezell announced the decision to stream the event on Twitch under the username BigDrGGEZ6967, the tournament has attracted some attention from Kalshi, Red Bull, Klarna and Coldstream Clear Distillery, who are offering sponsorship deals to the department.
“We at the Rowe Management Building have already been thinking about what to do with the sponsorship money,” says Ezell. “Students are really going to love the new Sobey’s family Zyn and froyo bar located on the fourth floor.”
Since things are looking bright for his innovative and “hip” midterm, Ezell also has plans for the class’ final.
When asked about this topic through a Twitch donation, he answered, “We can really turn this into the next big thing. I’m thinking this time we will host a YouTube countdown for it, maybe even get custom skins. I’m already in talks with Mr. Beast for the final. This is going to be massive.”