Game featured questions from U.S. citizenship test
Haley Piercepierceha@lopers.unk.edu
A pub-style trivia night held on
Sept. 18 was UNK’s Constitution Day event.
Teams of six had the
opportunity to compete for prizes at 7 p.m. in NSU Ponderosa E. Snacks were
provided, and door prizes were given away.
Questions for the trivia night were
taken from the U.S. citizenship test. Dr. Diane Duffin, the coordinator for the
event, said this would be done to standardize the questions, so no group of
students was at an advantage. It also gave students a starting point for
studying if they were looking to take the test.
Trivia night was put on by the
American Democracy Project. According to their website, ADP’s goal is to
“produce college and university graduates who are equipped with the knowledge,
skills, attitudes and experiences they need to be informed, engaged members of
their communities.” It is an initiative of the American Association of State
Colleges and Universities.
“We prioritize the voices of
students,” Duffin said, “and that’s a democratic purpose.”
At UNK, ADP functions in the
form of a coordinator, Duffin, and an advisory board comprised of faculty,
staff and students. ADP takes on the responsibility of celebrating Constitution
Day at UNK – an expectation of every educational institution receiving federal
funding. Constitution Day was Sept. 17, and in years past, has been celebrated
by hosting a discussion forum or bringing in a speaker.
This year’s event – the
pub-style trivia – was an idea brought about by four UNK students: Grace
Tolstedt, Erin Green, Joel Kreifels and Adrian Almeida who come from various
organizations across campus and formed an ad hoc committee for ADP.
“They are really the students
who have seen it through from start to finish,” Duffin said.
Together, the students decided to
use questions from the U.S. citizenship test.
“That’s kind of pointed,”
Duffin said, “Some of us are fortunate enough to be citizens by chance, whereas
others of us have to earn it.”
Indeed, a criticism of the citizenship
test, or perhaps birthright U.S. citizens, is that many would not be able to
pass it. In correlation, a 2018 study by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship
Foundation found that only 36 percent of Americans could pass a multiple-choice
exam with questions from the citizenship test, formally known as the
Naturalization Test.
Still, the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services office reports a 90 percent success rate on the
Naturalization Test through March 2019. They offer practice tests and study
materials for the exam, which Duffin points out would be a place to brush up on
material before ADP’s Citizenship Challenge.
In
addition to pub-trivia, ADP will be hosting films at The World Theatre
throughout the semester.