In June, Sherman Ave sat down with each of the 2013 Homecoming Court nominees for wide-ranging discussions. If any cultural references seem slightly out of date, that’s because that was June and this is September and that’s how time works. Voting for Homecoming King and Queen begins soon!
Packingham: So to start off, how do you spell your last name?
Tim: S-M-I-T-H.
Packingham: And how do you pronounce that?
Tim: Smith.
Packingham: Hmm. Okay. How do you spell your middle name?
Tim: Thomas. T-H-O-M-A-S.
Packingham: And how do you spell your mother’s maiden name?
Tim: U-R-I-Z-A-R. Urizar.
Packingham: Oh.
Tim: Yeah.
Packingham: What’s the origin of that?
Tim: She’s Peruvian.
Packingham: Really? Cool. Have you been to Peru?
Tim: Yeah, I have. Just once, though.
Packingham: So what are you studying?
Tim: I’m studying Civil Engineering.
Packingham: So what is especially civil about your style of engineering?
Tim: Civil? I don’t know. Building big things. Like construction sites.
Packingham: Okay. Are you the person responsible for building the new music building?
Tim: Uh…no.
Packingham: Oh. [silence] So when did you discover your passion for building things?
Tim: I don’t know, I kind of just picked it because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to be outdoors, that’s kind of cool. And my dad’s in construction, so I always had a background in job sites.
Packingham: That’s pretty cool. Do you like Bob the Builder?
Tim: Bob the Builder? Yeah. I haven’t watched the show lately.
Packingham: I heard that’s part of the curriculum.
Tim: Yeah yeah, I’m taking a class in it. It’s like a senior capstone class.
Packingham: So why did you choose to come to Northwestern?
Tim: I got recruited here for swimming, and then I chose Northwestern on top of all the other schools just ’cause it had a combination of everything. Academics, athletics and then Chicago, I wanted to be close to a big city.
Packingham: What do you think is your favorite place you ever swam to?
Tim: Swam to? Or swam in?
Packingham: Swam to.
Tim: Uhh…other side of the pool. I do that a lot.
Packingham: And where are you originally from?
Tim: I’m from Oakland, California.
Packingham: Are you a Raiders fan?
Tim: As much as I can be, yeah.
Packingham: My condolences. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about where you’re from?
Tim: My favorite thing is just the whole Bay Area, the whole region. I love it. There’s so much there. Probably my least favorite thing about Oakland is the rep everyone has, when I say I’m from Oakland they’re like “Oh, sorry.” It’s just a big city, it’s got its bad and it’s got its good. Everybody just knows it for its bad, though. Because there’s a lot more to it.
Packingham: Who is the most relevant person to come from your hometown?
Tim: Well Tom Hanks is from Oakland.
Packingham: Oh really?
Tim: Yeah!
Packingham: I heard he has a son who goes here! Is that true?!
Tim: Yeah, Chet! He’s a senior. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.
Packingham: Could you describe your ideal date?
Tim: Ideal date? Cheap, and a lot of food.
Packingham: Okay. So, like…McDonalds?
Tim: Kinda! No, not really. Probably I’d cook, because it’s a little cheaper.
Packingham: Would you compare your family to the Bluth family on Arrested Development?
Tim: Sure, I’ve never seen it, but —
Packingham: They’re just a nice, typical American family.
Tim: My family’s nice. I like my parents.
Packingham: What would you say your favorite Native American tribe is?
[silence]
Tim: Big Chiefs.
Packingham: Big Chiefs? Is, uh…that might not be a tribe.
Tim: If I were to make a tribe, it would be called the Big Chiefs.
Packingham: Okay. So then what are your thoughts on updog?
Tim: What’s updog?
Packingham: IT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Packingham jumps up and high-fives Sir Twattingworth, who has been on his computer in the corner, both shouting incoherently the whole time]
Packingham: Not a lot of people really indulge us in that one. Alright, so what is your favorite movie franchise that made just one too many movies? Your options are Rocky, The Fast and the Furious and The Village.
Tim: Probably Rocky. He’s just really old in that last one. He’s like, too old.
Packingham: If by the last one, you mean the last several ones.
Tim: Yeah.
Packingham: What else remains on your Northwestern bucket list?
Tim: It’s not really listed out. I haven’t been on Swift roof yet.
Packingham: I was gonna go there the other night, during that thunderstorm.
Tim: Yeah, would’ve been sweet.
Packingham: What’s your favorite movie?
Tim: Ugh, that’s a tough one. I would either say Forrest Gump or Warrior.
Packingham: I heard Tom Hank’s son was in Forrest Gump, is that correct?
Tim: Not his son…
[silence]
Packingham: So what’s your favorite band?
Tim: The Offspring.
Packingham: Offspring? Cooool. Are they coming to Dillo?
Tim: I really would like it if they came to Dillo.
Packingham: That’d be great. That’s some solid 90s grunge.
Tim: I was obsessed with them in middle school, but I still keep my passion.
Packingham: They were one of my favorite bands when I was younger. What’s the hardest class you’ve taken at NU?
Tim: I don’t know if it’s the hardest now when I look back on it, but at the time I thought EA1, for engineering. Coming in, it just kicked my ass.
Packingham: What is your favorite thing about yourself?
Tim: I like that I like to eat.
Packingham: Okay. That makes sense. And what’s your favorite thing about me?
[silence]
Tim: Your hair’s kinda nice.
Packingham: Thank you! Then what would you say your least favorite thing is about the guy over there? [pointing to Sir Twattingworth]
Tim: Not a fan of ankle socks.
Twattingworth: GET OUT.
Packingham: Aaaanyway. Karl Marx once said that, “social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex, the ugly ones included.” Could you discuss that?
Tim: Not really. I don’t really know what to say about that.
Packingham: There’s really nothing reasonable to say. On a scale of 0-1, how would you rate your comprehension of the binary system?
Tim: About 1.
Packingham: On a scale of 1-10, where would you rate it?
Tim: 1.
Packingham: Who is your favorite ethnically ambiguous character from Harry Potter?
Tim: To be honest, I’ve never seen the movies.
Packingham: Oh, you haven’t…
Tim: But I like Hermione. She’s pretty.
Packingham: Yeah, pretty’s a mild word to talk about how stunningly hot she is. How would you use your position as Homecoming King to end world hunger?
Tim: Well I think world hunger could really use some Northwestern spirit. So I’d just go around, get people excited for football games.
Packingham: They’re hungry, they might as well also be upset with our sports programs.
[silence]
Packingham: The swimming team excluded, of course. Could you talk about your favorite Taylor Swift song and how it represents what you’ve learned throughout your life about overcoming adversity?
Tim: Well, she has that pretty recent song, 22. As I come into my 22nd year, I’m taking this advice from her and realizing, that’s what it’s all about, really. That’s what life is all about. She just lays it all out.
Packingham: Alright. So I’m going to give you the set-up to a joke and I want you to come up with a punchline in 30 seconds. So two Quakers are walking through the woods…
Tim: Who’s there?
Packingham: Unconventional. Bold. I like it. So on a little bit more serious note, a lot of people think that homecoming court is a popularity contest and doesn’t actually reflect the Northwestern community. Um, I don’t have a question here. I just wanted to inform you that there is dissent among your subjects.
Tim [laughing]: Okay, I appreciate it.
Packingham: Do you watch Game of Thrones?
Tim: My roommates watch it, so I watch it occasionally.
Packingham: Okay, I was going to make a lot of Game of Thrones references but I don’t have to. Packingham: Who would you say has had the biggest influence in your life in the last, let’s say, 19 minutes?
Tim: Probably you.
Packingham: Me?!
Tim: Yeah.
Packingham: Great! I’m really flattered. Speaking of which, what is your favorite Sherman Ave article or feature? You can choose as many as you want.
Tim: I was gonna say, this recent Dillo Day stuff has been pretty funny, because everyone is talking about it. You guys are just right there.
Packingham: Okay, last question here: So if you had to marry, screw and kill someone on the Homecoming Court, who would it be?
Tim: I like them all!
Packingham: I’m trying to think of a bigger cop-out I’ve heard in my life. And I can’t.
[silence]
Packingham: This is like in one of those discussion sections where the TA says you can’t leave class until someone says something.
Tim: Yeah.
Packingham: So you are literally confined to this apartment until you can answer this question.
Tim: Umm…
Packingham: Unless you don’t want to, then it’s totally fine.
Tim: I like Will Ritter. So maybe all three for him.
Packingham: Okay great! That’s incredibly sadistic in a fun and exciting way. Well I think that’s all we have, do you have any questions for us?
Tim: What’s your middle name?
Packingham: Julie.
Sherman Ave 
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