By Ari Massefski, Class of 2014
As a student at the George Washington University crept across a classroom, she turned suddenly on her friend and growled, “Nom nom brains nom.”
To some, they may sound like the words of a madman. But to the members of the GW Humans vs. Zombies organization, it is a call to arms.
Humans vs. Zombies, or HvZ, is a game invented in 2005 by students at Goucher College in Baltimore. The once-a-year game, which coincides with Halloween, lasts for one week and is played during players’ normal, everyday lives. During the game, which began on Sunday, every player begins as a human, except for one designated zombie whose job it is to hunt down humans and “eat their brains.” Once a human has been eaten, they morph into a zombie and become thirsty for flesh—and must act quickly because a zombie starves if it doesn’t feast on humans for 48 consecutive hours.
“I thought I was the only person who worried constantly about zombie attacks, but now I have this place where I can practice my skills,” C. Michael Whitfield, a freshman in the School of Media and Public Affairs, said jokingly.
Obviously, Mr. Whitfield has never actually eaten a human being. But to qualify as having successfully eaten a meal, a zombie must simply tag a human. On the flip side, a human may defend him or herself by striking a zombie with a pair of balled-up socks or by shooting a zombie with one of the many GW-approved nerf guns.
Humans and zombies are able to identify each other by orange bandanas tied around their arm, if they are a human, or if they are a zombie, around their head. To win, the humans must simply last the whole week without being consumed, while the zombies win the game if they manage to devour all of the humans before the game is over. In 2010, the humans won.
Last year, during her freshman year, GW student Alexis Gorin was talking to one of her friends, who attended Potsdam University, on the phone. Ms. Gorin, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering in School of Engineering and Applied Science, noticed that her friend, Chris Li, was breathing very heavily, and she was mildly concerned. So Ms. Gorin asked Mr. Li what was going on. The answer? Humans vs. Zombies.
“He told me all about the game and how much fun it is, and I’m thinking, I’m a freshman and I want to do something fun,” said Ms. Gorin, president of HvZ. . “So I started GW Humans vs. Zombies.”
Strict guidelines have been set regarding the way and the places in which the game may be played. Only certain nerf guns—those that look completely unrealistic and couldn’t be mistaken for an actual gun—may be used, and gameplay is restricted to outdoor areas of both campuses.
The organization has become popular among the student body.
“I joined because it sounded like fun, and because I’ve always wanted to kick some zombie butt,” said Nicola Licata, a freshman in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
Junior Charles Pulliam-Moore is even considering making a documentary about the organization. Mr. Pulliam-Moore is majoring in women’s studies in Columbian College, and is taking Intro to Media Production with Jason Osder, an assistant professor in SMPA. As part of the class, he was assigned to make a short documentary about a student organization on campus.
“As far as student organizations go, I feel as though HvZ is a lesser-known student organization, and they’ve kind of got that fringe thing going for them,” said Mr. Pulliam-Moore. “Student organizations are very popular at GW and everyone’s involved, but these kids are involved in an organization that isn’t about building a resume. It’s about having fun, which sets it apart.”
In addition to the week-long game, which takes place once a year, the organization sponsors a series of day-long missions, where players have an objective and must complete their mission within the given parameters. For example, last year one mission included a situation in which a GW administrator aspired to create a super-student and developed a serum that gave students superhuman intelligence. But the serum turned students into zombies, who spread the virus by tagging other students.
“I really enjoy it,” said HvZ Vice President Samantha Rogers, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering in SEAS. “It’s fun to pit your wits against other people.”
The executive board of HvZ continues to grow and expand the organization in its second year. While this year’s game has 60 GW students registered, there are over 650 campuses around the world where HvZ is played, and some of those campuses host hundreds of people per game.
“We hope the game gets better and bigger,” said Ms. Gorin. “Someday, we want to see everyone on campus wearing a bandana.”