By Anjali Nayak and Jupiter Polevoi
Throwing darts at S*ooter B*aun, streaming Red (Taylor’s Version of course) and making absurd fan theories as to Taylor’s next endeavor, swifties can be found everywhere. But where can we find such zealots at Westmont? In efforts to seek the truth, we set out to find unsuspecting swifties in the wild. Our bait? Taylor Swift stickers (swifters to keep it short), able to entice even the most unsuspicious fans of the pop star. Scouring the packed quad to find students to play our game, we asked a series of questions ranging from easy, medium, and hard. Players were able to win more stickers but at their own cost, the questions got harder and there was a risk of losing all of their swifters. Join us as we answer the question, how much does the average Westmont student know about Taylor Swift?
Questions:
Easy Question #1: Which famous artist interrupted Taylor’s speech at the 2009 VMA’s?
Answer: Kanye West
Easy Question #2: Is Taylor a cat person?
Answer: Yes
Medium Question #1:Who needs to give Taylor her scarf back?
Answer: J*ke G*yllenhaal
Medium Question #2: What is Taylor’s lucky number
Answer: 13
Medium Question #3: How long is All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) EXACTLY?
Answer: 10:13
Medium Question #4: What album was Taylor going to go on tour for before lockdown?
Answer: Lover
Hard question #1: What was Taylor Swift’s character in Cats?
Answer: Bombalurina
Hard question #2: What is Taylor’s most streamed song?
Answer: Love Story (Stolen version)
Hard question #2: What album did Taylor break the record for most streamed album on the day of release?
Answer: Red (Taylor’s Version)
The first person we interviewed was our friend Brian King Vallejo. Although he answered correctly when asked about the 2009 VMAs and exactly how long All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) was, he unfortunately fell short and answered Grizabella for the Cat’s question, when the answer is clearly Bombalurina. The outcome of this interview was Brian complaining that us not giving him swifters was “unfair.”
Next we interviewed Brian Lu, someone who pleasantly surprised us with his Taylor Swift knowledge. He accurately answered the questions “is Taylor a cat person” and “who needs to give Taylor her scarf back,” but fell short when asked about what album Taylor broke the record for. Needless to say, his knowledge stunned us enough to reward him 3 swifters.
Lily Matt was a bit skeptical when we approached her, but still gave up some of her lunch period to play. She answered her first two questions right, answering Kanye West for the VMAs and 13 for her lucky number, but did not want to wager more swifters. Lily walked away with 2 dazzling swifters.
Unsuspecting track star Shane Dalziel did surprisingly well for being well, an unsuspecting track star. He not so confidently said that yes, Taylor is a cat person and that J*ke G*llenhall indeed needs to give her her scarf back. Although he fell short and said “Shake It Off” was her most streamed song, his wisdom of our pop queen earned him 3 swifters.
Lauren Lochner only got one question right, but was extremely grateful nonetheless. They answered Kanye for the 2009 VMAs (everyone seems to know this question) but fell short when asked the exact length of All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version). Their enthusiasm earned them a whopping 2 swifters.
George “Gigabob” Bilionis had plenty of help from his friends (who also filmed us without permission…) but still fell short on the third question. He said yes to Taylor being a cat person and his friend whispered the answer J*ke G*llenhal, but said Red (Not Taylor’s Version) was her most streamed album. Although we are scared for our lives that our faces will be plastered all around social media, he walked away with 3 lovely swifters.
Ethan Li tried to rush us, and only got one answer right but when we asked him the Cat’s question for fun, he actually got it right. When we asked how, because we thought this was an impossible question, he said, and I quote “I’m a theater kid.”