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Lucky Student to Receive Full Ride Scholarship After Participating In Series of Challenges

Written by: Farhad Taraporevala

“During the game, we are legally allowed to murder our roommates” said Peepal, “Who can’t do the dishes now?”
Photo by Sharon Roth

On Friday, Akhil Peepal successfully outcompeted hundreds of his fellow students in a series of six challenges organized by Chancellor Pradeep Khosla to win a full-ride scholarship for the rest of his time at UCSD. These challenges were live-streamed on Triton Gaming’s website thebluedanube.com for alumni to enjoy and place bets on winners and losers, with the university raising over $5 million in just one week. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure I was going to win at several points in the competition,” said an ecstatic Peepal, “but I just pulled up my bootstraps, kept moving forward, and never gave up. Here I am today: living proof that dreams really do come true!”

The idea for the competition arose from when Khosla saw the Presidential Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon. “I was simply captivated by the wonderful idea I saw playing out on screen,” said Khosla. “So many turkeys — all competing for the chance to survive, and one person who gets to control who lives and who dies, playing the role of God — a role which suits me quite well, I think.”

The rules for the game were simple: Any student “lucky enough” to be offered a spot was allowed to enlist. If they lost a challenge, their tuition would be doubled and they would have to work unpaid for one year at Café Ventanas. “It was really a stroke of genius by Chancellor Khosla,” said Ivan Temooney, an accountant for UCSD admin. “He was able to raise so much money in such a short amount of time, it really helped to offset the cost of constructing his new summer home.”

Students were subjected to six challenges over the course of a week. Students first had to outrace a bus from Sixth College to Geisel Library, after which they had to be one of the first 100 people to find a Polish edition of The Hunger Games hidden within the building. The next day, students had to survive a game of paintball at Camp Snoopy, and then place in the top 25 spots in a Kahoot game about Khosla. On the last day, contestants had to be one of the first five people to successfully connect to school Wi-Fi. The winner was the first person to complete an obstacle course along Ridgewalk. “For me, the hardest challenge was definitely the Kahoot, as the questions were oddly specific,” said Peepal. “I honestly guessed on most of the questions. Like, how was I supposed to know Khosla’s favorite time of day was 11:59 p.m.?”

Others who took part in the challenge were not as lucky as Peepal, but remain optimistic for their next chance in the 2022 Raccoon Game. “Sure, my parents are furious with me now,” said first-year Bill Turner, “but when I win the whole thing next year, it won’t even matter. People better watch out, because I have been seriously studying for the next Khosla Kahoot.”

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