What’s more merciless: a judge or a scoreboard? Performance competitions are often the tougher nut to crack when deciding, as “objectively” as possible, who among competitors is the best of the best. Consider that in dancing competitions, for instance, strengthening one’s capacity to spin, jump and keep the beat might not cover the spectrum of what makes a better dancer.

In response to numerous complaints from the student body, Ashoka, the Washington University South Asian students association that puts on the show Diwali, recently confirmed that it will change the method for distributing tickets to the show.