New members join the club and help kick-off the game
Lindsay Ross
Equinox Staff
Warning! The zombie apocalypse is coming again to Keene State College. Grab a nerf blaster and put on that headband; they’re on their way!
The announcement posted on the Keene State website said that the Humans vs. Zombies game is back again this semester.
The meetings came and went, and on Tuesday, March 27, the game was ready to begin.
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The club met outside by the tennis courts and at midnight, the game took off.
The club is hoping for a turnout of 100 members. Students will be scattered throughout the campus sporting armbands and carrying around a nerf blaster and a sock, while the zombies will be wearing the headband around their neck.
The Humans vs. Zombies club started during the fall semester of last year by President, sophomore Ben Piche, and Vice President, sophomore Paul Mazzola.
They had heard about the game before entering college, and when they learned it wasn’t an official club here on campus, they decided to start up their own.
“We have gone through Res. Life a couple times, and have a good relationship with Campus Safety,” Piche said. “We became an official club on campus, so we have campus funding as well.”
In order to be registered in the game, there are four meetings that students can choose from to attend. They can show up and sign up for the game, everybody is welcomed to join.
At first when the club began, students generally heard about the game by word of mouth, many students told their friends that the game was going to happen.
“I joined the game because a lot of my friends were joining and I thought it looked like fun. I watched the first game and played the second game because I saw how much fun everyone was having,” senior Lindsay Dutton said.
So how does the game work? “It’s just a big game of tag,” Piche said.
Everybody starts out as humans; the humans wear the armbands, and carry around nerf guns and socks.
The students go around, hoping to make it to their classes safely.
Once you become a zombie, they are unable to carry around headbands anymore, and they go around tagging humans.
The zombies can be stunned by humans, shot by a nerf blaster or a sock.
It stuns them for 15 minutes, and the zombies have to switch their headbands from around their head to wearing them on their necks.
In order to choose whom the original zombie is, the participants can check off whether they want to be in the zombie pool.
“Out of that, the moderator will choose a certain person,” Mazzola said.
“You have to sneak, run and survive from being zombified. Plus you get to run around with nerf guns,” Dutton said.
Participating in the game helps students relax and not have to worry about work they have to do.
“It’s just a way to have fun, it’s a way to get away from the stress of college,” Mazzola said. “It makes me feel like a kid again.”
Playing Humans vs. Zombies brings students together, gives them an opportunity to play a game that they normally would not be able to play otherwise, and be part of a club.
“You are able to make friends out of the game,” Piche said.
“It makes a community come together.”
Dutton added, “It’s more than just a game. I’ve met a lot of people through Humans vs. Zombies and it’s a great club to be a part of.”
Although different colleges may use marshmallow guns instead of the original nerf blasters, and some schools like to change up the rules, the Humans vs. Zombies club here on campus likes to keep the game fairly easy to understand.
“We try to keep it pretty simple,” Piche said.
“We kept it to the basics.”The game started Tuesday, March 27. The games go for a week at a time.
“We have a lot of fun,” Piche said. Dutton couldn’t agree more, and encourages other students to be included as well. “Just join. You won’t regret it!”
Lindsay Ross can be contacted at lross1@ksc.mailcruiser.com
