Reading Rivalry: A new playing field

By: Cooper Hillman, Assistant News Editor

Canisius and Niagara have been rivals for many years, dating back to the 1900s when the two schools faced each other in the first “Battle of the Bridge” basketball game. Since then, the universities have faced off in many other sports ranging from hockey to volleyball to cross country and track. But now, a new competition is taking the iconic rivalry in a new direction that is less based on physically active sports, and more on academics.

Reading Rivalry is a new competition between Canisius and Niagara, promoted in partnership by librarians of both universities, that is fought between students, as well as faculty and staff, as a way to encourage reading among college students. Students can read paperback or audiobooks for the contest, or even share books with friends to advance your reading. Students can log their chapters online on a Google Form, and more information about logging hours as well as Reading Rivalry at the library.

Canisius’ Student Success Librarian, Courtney Johnt, had a few things to say about the ongoing event. “From a student perspective, the idea is to beat Niagara, however, the reader with the most hours logged will also get the prize of a 50–dollar Amazon gift card. It began last week and students have until Dec. 4 to log your time reading,” said Johnt. 

The idea came from “Heated Rivalry,” and initially it was supposed to be based entirely around that book, but Johnt changed the competition to make it a play on the rivalry, but revolving around reading books instead of hockey. “Our goal is for students especially to take time away from phones and other devices, and save some free time to read and be mindful and grounded in reality. If you can, doomscroll and make time for that, you could surely take some of that time to read before bed or in between classes,” said Johnt. This will be a good way to refresh students’ mental and emotional state with some calming reading or even use it to get something more out of required readings for class.

Competition ends on Dec. 4, but the goal is to have students carry on the reading prowess they get from this experience long into the future. The message from Johnt and the entire reading staff is simply, get reading.