I was skeptical upon seeing students with bright orange Nerf guns, balled up socks, and neon green bands around their arms and heads running around chasing each other on Honors Scholars Day in the spring before I moved into Stockton. The whole notion of college students playing such a game as something called Humans Vs. Zombies (or HVZ, as it’s affectionately called) kind of surprised me. College, to me, was supposed to be a serious, pedantic place where you were not allowed to have time for seemingly childish activities. After moving into Stockton and making friends that were ecstatic to participate in this event, lasting from October 13-18, 2013, however, resulted in me apprehensively joining in and completely changing my opinion, while having tons of fun in the process.

An essential part of HVZ is the Nerf gun, as it is a human’s only defense, save for balled up socks, against being tagged by a zombie, which turns you into a zombie yourself. Shooting a dart or throwing a sock at a zombie stuns them for ten minutes, allowing you ample time to run away and stay human. Soon after signing up, I went to buy myself my very own gun and dig for old socks and the bottom of my drawer. Then strapping on the green band around my arm the next day, I was officially ready for HVZ to begin.

Besides the constant paranoia of having to watch out for my headband wearing classmates lurking around outside (as weare not allowed to be tagged inside), most of my first day of HVZ was successful as a human. It wasn’t until later at the nightly mission that my back was turned and I was tagged by a zombie. I somewhat begrudgingly gave up my status as a human and joined the zombie ranks.

Being a zombie was even more fun than being a human, as I discovered throughout the week. I got to chase humans and scare them merely by walking by. Later that week, I even found myself hiding in bushes in anticipation of humans walking by. There was also a higher sense of comradery amongst the zombies. Humans tended to have the mentality of “better you than me”. Being a zombie, on the other hand, means watching your fellow zombies’ backs and helping each other obtain tags by turning more humans into zombies. I even got my own tag when I was walking out of the Unified Science Center and noticed a human with her back turned to me.

HVZ was ultimately an extremely amusing experience for me that resulted in many new friends. The unexpected teamwork and comradery involved helped improved how I work with others and banded the Stockton community together. I also realized that college does not always mean leaving behind childish ways, but embracing them with a new outlook. It is something distinctive that sets Stockton apart from many other colleges in the country. Not everyone gets to spend a week at college playing with Nerf guns and hunting and chasing fellow classmates while still attending class, as I like brag to my friends back home.