“Think You’re Smart? Prove It!” is the slogan of the upcoming trivia night which aims to challenge students and members of the community.

Charleston’s second annual Trivia Challenge at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 will be hosted in the University Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Audrey Edwards, the event organizer, said last year, she decided to do more to contribute to the Coles County Democrats. She came up with the idea for trivia night, and worked to make the competition possible.

This year, she got in contact with EIU Democrats, Coles County Democrats and Coles County Progressives and formed a committee to put together Trivia Night.

Edwards said she hopes students will choose the contest as their Thursday night out.

“I enjoyed doing trivia as a contestant, so I thought it would be a fun activity a lot of people would enjoy,” Edwards said.

Edwards said trivia topics will include U.S. geography, U.S. history, medicine, fictional characters, grammar, fashion, pop culture and food//nutrition among other things.

“We wanted to tap into all kinds of knowledge–not just facts but also how-to do things,” said Edwards. “I’ve played in some trivia contests where I couldn’t win because I didn’t know enough history. This challenge has something for everybody.”

Edwards said students can bring a team of up to six players, or be assigned to a team at the door.

Admission is $5 per student and $10 for nonstudents. Each member of the winning team will receive a $20 prize.

Players may register from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and choose a team name that reflects their identity.

“Some past names have included ‘Brainiacs’, ‘History Guys’ and ‘Ghouls’,” Edwards said. “I think that last one reflected the season more than their character.”

Paul Wieck, the Coles County Democrat Chair, said that Coles Country Democrats decided to sponsor Trivia Night because having a gathering like this provides the opportunity for progressive minds to get together and discuss current issues facing the country.

“Given the chaos in the state and nationally, it’s important that individuals learn about issues with an open mind,” Wieck said. “Many people only pay attention on election years, and we want to bring attention to issues more often than that.”

Wieck said that with only 52 percent of the country voting, 27 percent of the country is deciding what is best for the nation.

“That doesn’t sound like democracy to me,” Wieck said. “A lot of folks tend only to vote during presidential years, so other elections have an even lower turnout than that. It’s important to keep talking about issues and keep them on the table.”

The money raised will be distributed evenly amongst EIU College Democrats, Coles County Progressives and Coles County Democrats.

Edwards said it is not just about fundraising, and it allows for an opportunity for anyone to begin to get involved in the democratic process.

Anyone who would like to make an additional donation may write a check to any of the above organizations and send it to Trivia, c/o Paula Enstrom, P.O. Box 221, Charleston, IL 61920.

Travis Moody can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].