In a four-way tug of war, Nathans College team members Amber Leis, Mark Young, Sydney Long, Stephen Juraschek, Sonya Tang, Michael Bushey, Yuval Patel and B.J. Lynch pull together. Adrian Dokey, right, cheers them on. Photo Courtesy of Florence Wu

By Greg Rienzi
The Gazette

School of Medicine students stepped out of the classroom and onto the play field last weekend to compete in the inaugural Colleges Bowl, a smorgasbord of athletic, brain-twisting and stomach- churning events that squared off the school's four advisory colleges — Sabin, Thomas, Nathans and Taussig.

The event, organized by the medical students and the SoM's Colleges Advisory Program, was held on Bonvegna Field in the Canton neighborhood.

Students from all four years and faculty advisers competed in such events as a four-legged race, pie-eating contest, four-way tug of war, kickball, water balloon toss and wheelbarrow race. Not to miss a learning opportunity, the competition also featured the "Running of the Bowels," where participants wore surgical masks inscribed with a part of the gastrointestinal tract. Team members had to line up in order of food's path through the GI tract.

David Brown, director of the Colleges Bowl and an assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology, said that the day offered an opportunity to have a little fun and build community.

"As a medical student, you know about your class and maybe a little about people in the class just above or below, but here was a chance to meet students in every year and college, and some faculty members," said Brown, an adviser with the Taussig College. "The students thought this was great."

Thomas College, named after cardiac surgery pioneer Vivien Thomas, won the competition.

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