New competition 'Zombies vs. Humans' infects students, raises money for charity
By Megan Osborn
Jordan Aisaka carries balled up socks and Nerf darts in his pockets. He wears a towel around his shoulders. He is prepared for his trip to dinner at the Cove.
"You can reach people from far away with it," Aisaka said, doing a whip-like motion with his bath towel.
He was surrounded by his companions, many of whom were wearing colorful head bands and armbands, like ninjas.
Who are these dedicated warriors? Zombies and humans, of course.
Christie, Kenna and Shipstad Hall have begun the battle of "Zombies and Humans" as of this Monday. Not only does this fun game make daily life an adventure. It is a way for the east quad dorms to raise money for charity.
Sophomore Charles Steele, president of Kenna Hall, is excited about the turnout so far. The three dorms ran a preliminary game last week to inspire interest among students who were unsure about participating.
"We gained fifteen or so more participants; that's like fifty to seventy five more dollars for charity," Steele said.
All participants must wear brightly-colored identification bands around their arm if they are humans and around their head if they are zombies. All players start the game as humans, except for a few randomly selected students who begin as zombies.
Participants in Zombies vs. Humans pay a fee to their respective halls to participate in the game, which pays for costs of the game with the excess contributions to the Holy Cross Mission Center. Each hall has recruited approximately 40 people.
The object for humans is to stay human by avoiding zombies who try to tag them to turn them into zombies. Conversely, the object of the zombies is to stay alive by turning a human into a zombie every 48 hours. If they fail to do so, they die.
"Student's can't just stay in their dorms though - obviously, people have to go to their classes," sophomore Nadia Peer explained. "Humans have to come out in the open every 24 hours."
To turn a human into a zombie, a zombie must tag a human. A human can stun a zombie, making it unable to tag anyone for 15 minutes, by throwing a soft object like a pair of balled up socks at the zombie when they are not in a safe zone. Safe zones consist of all buildings and walkways around campus.
Participants carry identification cards that are taken when humans are turned into zombies or when zombies die from lack of consuming humans. Kills are recorded by the halls and can be accessed online. Zombies with the most kills and humans who last the longest will be given prizes at the end of the game.
When does the game end? Well, when all players have been turned into zombies, or when humans have survived long enough to starve the zombies to death.
Originally, Nerf guns were used as a way to hit targets, but Public Safety has banned Nerf guns from being used in the game.
Sophomores Corey Swanson and Charles Steele were in close contact with Public Safety about the game's rules. They wrote up a proposal for Harold Burke-Sivers, director of Public Safety.
"Me and Charles wanted to run everything by P-Safe," Swanson said. "We didn't want to lose momentum."
Initially, Public Safety was open to Nerf guns being used in the game. But a few days after the approval, Steele received an e-mail from public safety banning the use of Nerf guns due to school shootings that had happened around the country. The Public Safety officers were not comfortable with students wielding gun-shaped objects around campus, even neon yellow ones.
"It's against our weapons policy," Burke-Sivers said. "We approved everything about the game that they wanted to do, with the exception of the Nerf guns."
Burke-Sivers is concerned about the use of the Nerf guns, especially if they have laser scopes that could confuse and worry people who are not aware of the game. He hopes, however, that the Nerf gun ban will not detract from the popularity of the game, as it supports Holy Cross charities.
Burke-Sivers encourages students to use alternatives such as Nerf balls to stun zombies.
Many students who participated in the game were frustrated by the Nerf gun ban. Some students who bought guns and paid participation fees wanted their money back. After the initial reaction, students, although disappointed, agreed to play without the guns.
"After all our concessions, they still take the guns away," sophomore Niko McCreedy said.
Swanson, who has worked closely with Public Safety to have the game approved, is not ready to admit defeat on the Nerf gun ban.
"We're willing to do whatever it takes to get our Nerf guns back," Swanson said.
Steele, however, does not see the ban as a significant setback for the overall game. In fact, he believes that without Nerf guns, more students may be willing to play using ordinary objects like socks and towels for weaponry, instead of taking ostentatiously neon guns to class for protection.
"We will bring back the Nerf gun issue to the table once more time has passed," Steele said.
Armed with socks, towels and other non-lethal objects, Zombies and Humans soldier on in their battle. Sophomore Nadia Peer thinks the game makes school exciting as players must be vigilant for potential attackers.
"You're at least cautious but not paranoid because it's only fun and games," Peer said.
