MAPH student just can’t believe he lost at Scrabble

By Peter Berkowitz

Feb. 24, 2013

Noah Green, a student in the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities, was devastated last Thursday by his first loss in a game of Scrabble in “several years.” The loss comes at a particularly tough time for Green who has been nearly overwhelmed by coursework while also in the process of “figuring out [his] community” here in Hyde Park.

“I mean, I just wasn’t prepared for it at all. I’m no genius, but I’ve always been like really good with words. I was the editor of the literary magazine during undergrad, I’m subscribed to the New Yorker, I’ve had a lot of experience taking part in some really probing discussions on critical literary theory… I should be able to win a game of Scrabble.” said Mr. Green in a phone interview on Sunday.

As a MAPH student, Mr. Green’s readings can easily exceed “hundreds of pages per week,” leaving little room for extra-curriculars, let alone Scrabble practice.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword in that regard. You’d expect my assigned books to expand my vocabulary – which they do. But just not to the extent where it’s a long-lasting improvement. I mean, with language, you have to use your words or else you lose them.”

Since the program’s inception in 1996, MAPH students have always held a unique place in the University’s scrabble community. Ranking 23rd in Scrabble out of the 31 University departments, MAPH students on average do outperform students in the college and Laboratory Schools, yet fare poorly when faced with fellow graduate-student Scrabblers. While David Wray, the Director of MAPH declined to comment for this article, an administrator speaking on the condition of anonymity helped to contextualize the gravity of the loss.

“I’m not going to lie. It was tough to hear. We aren’t the best right now. We’ve lost more games than we won. We definitely had our eyes on Green and were frankly hoping for better things.”