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february 2010 features the stentorian I ncssm Students Bring Zombie Game to Campus By Nathaly Lemoine In the second week of December, approximately .seventy students took part in a campus-wide role-playing game of Humans vs. Zombies. Though it originated at Goucher College, this glorified game of tag is increasingly being played on college campuses across the country. In the game, participating humans utilize Nerf guns and socks to ward off a zorhbie horde. Senior Nick Sienerth first heard about the game from an NC State Facebook page and decided to organize one here on campus. “[I] thought it was a good idea to bring it here... we had all the requirements for the game, that is, residential students and an open campus. I thought that a zombie-tag game would generate a lot of interest and everyone would have a lot of fun,” Nick said. Nick, along with seniorTylor Mansur, initially contacted and met with administrators to get approval and to set down the rules. Even though NCSSM has residential students, it still has to abide with high school rules. '“Originally we had the bandana idea [to distinguish between humans and zombies], but because it might get associated with gangs, we decided to use headbands and armbands of any color,” Tylor said. “Also, we couldn’t use Nerf guns.” As long as the participants followed school rules and administrators’ requests, the game could continue. “We were stringent on all the rules,” Tylor said. “If any school rules were broken, the game would be accountable and we would stop it.” One rule, that school comes first, discouraged participants from skipping class to avoid zombie attacks. Before starting the actual game, Tylor and Nick had to select a patient zero, or original zombie to start off the game. Out of several possible candidates, senior Chris McMahon was chosen. “We offered everyone the idea, to be original zombie and we considered them. We looked for someone who is social and who had the qualities needed to start a game, so we chose Chris,” Tylor explained. Within the first twenty- four hours of the game, Chris managed to attack about half of the human population. “I kind of had an unfair advantage' because unlike other zombies, I didn’t have to wear my headband for the first twenty-four hours,” Chris said. Senior Macey Matthews, one of the last remaining humans, believes she would change this and a couple of other rules for the original zombie. “It’s ridiculous the amount of people who were gone the first day,” she said. Tylor agrees that this was one of the reasons the game ended as quickly as it did and that he would change that rule for the next game. “Instead of no 'headband, the original zombie would have twenty- four hours to stay invisible to humans until he tags someone, then he is automatically seen,” he said. Another one of the last remaining humans, junior Will Greene, remembers when he was tagged by'a group of zombies outside of his hall. He was normally careful about where he went, but this group was determined to tag him. “On the zombie forum on Facebook, they had my schedule, paths I was going to take, people I walk with,” Will said. He believes this violates the number one rule - don’t be a jerk. This ambiguous rule encompasses anything from setting up ambushes or. camping out,” to getting outside help, to tagging roommates and cheating. Because this rule could be argued, moderators Nick and Tylor reviewed seenarios where this rule might have been broken. Humans that felt they were tagged unfairly could contact their moderators via Facebook, email, or face-to- face to report the scenario. If humans were tagged fairly, they would hand the zombies a card with their unique ID numbers. The zombies would enter this ID number in the website and they would receive a feed. Going twenty-four hours without a feed would result in death. Currently, moderators and representatives are trying to meet with administrators to start a second game, sometime third trimester. Their hope is to convince them that Humans vs. Zombies could have a positive effect on the campus and promote social interaction. How the (Mr.) Unicorn Got Its Horn By Molly Kuo It is an odd tradition: every year, men come together to dance, sing, and model formal wear in a competition for the esteemed title of Mr. Unicom. Still going strong, the humorous male pageant has actually been held annually ever since the serrior year of the first graduating class. Irene Kuo (’82) distinctly remembers when the idea of a Mr. Unicom pageant first came up at a Student Activities Board meeting during her senior year. The board had wanted to have a Homecoming; it seemed unlikely that it would work, however, because the school had no alumni to invite back. Students still wanted some sort of homecoming queen contest, but the board decided that singling out one girl was not representative of the spirit of the school, so Kuo suggested that “it would be entertaining to have the guys do it as a spoof” Each hall picked a male representative, and helped him find his feminine side for the competition. Without an auditorium on campus, the competition, which included talent, swimwear, evening gown, and question/answer sessions, was held at EK Powe Elementary School on Ninth Street. Kuo’s hall, 2'"' Wyche (now Royall)nominated Ishan Sehgal (’82) for the competition, who twirled baton for his talent and sported a speedo/bikini during the swimwear portion. First Hunt chose Robert Lee (’82). “1 read some German lyrics from a Frank Zappa album,” Lee recalled, “which you can imagine were pretty explicit.” Second Beall nominated Roger Kromer (’82). “I attempted to solve a Rubik’s Cube—they were a new fad then—while the theme to the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey played over the PA system. I was unsuccessful in solving it in the allotted time, which I can only surmise to be the reason 1 lost the Mr. Unicom title,” Kromer said. “I [remember being] decked out in over-the-top prepster drag; a pink twill scooter skirt, white 100% pima cotton buttondown, kelly green solid pullover, 14kt. goldadd-a-bead necklace, Dottie B reversible canvas belt, grosgrain ribbon headband, espadrille wedges, and a matching pink Bermuda bag.” In the end, it was First Beall’s choice, Gerry Sherman (’82), who became the first ever Mr. Unicom. Sherman remembers thpt many contestants “performed humorous acts,” but he sang a song that he wrote himself, which he still believes was an important factor of his success in the competition. “I suspect ' delivering a self penned song may have given me the edge. [But] it was actually the first time in my life that I wasn’t trying to win a competition... none of us were trying to win. 1 believe we were all just caught up in the spirit of having fun and making others laugh.” It is exactly that noncompetitive spirit that has stayed with Mr. Unicom to this day. In this year’s pageant, two contestants tied for the first time in the history of the contest: AJ Woodard and Arjee Restar are Mr. Unicom 2010. Junior Durant Carter won the title of Baby Unicom, a more recent addition the pageant that allows juniors to compete. Gerry Sherman (left), the original Mr. Unicorn, sings his self-pennet Roger Kromer, models a preppy version of formal wear. er contestant. From left to right: Gerry Sherman, Nate Dobson, Ishan Sehgal, Hector Cooper, and Robert Lee.
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