There is a menace slowly creeping across UF’s campus.
No, I’m not talking about the proposed flat-rate tuition plan that has gained traction among university administrators throughout the state, nor am I talking about steadily increasing enrollment or the influence of those Dove World members. I’m talking about Humans vs. Zombies.
That’s right, a seemingly harmless game. I’m an 18-year-old college student and not a crotchety old man, so why do I want my fellow Gators to get off my lawn? Simple. It’s an issue of image.
I completely feel Humans vs. Zombies is covered under a student’s right to free speech and assembly and shouldn’t be banned or restricted, but the founders, organizers and participants should seriously think about a perception shift.
Why does it matter? It’s worth noting above all else that UF is a four-year research institution, focused on educating its students to their fullest potentials, be it an undergraduate, graduate or professional degree. Just like any other school, it needs to replenish its graduating seniors with incoming freshmen.
Prospective students and their parents are taking last-minute tours and deciding on whether or not to apply to the university are seeing The Swamp, The Hub and some crazy group of guys with bandanas and NERF guns.
I’m not trying to be a stickler, and I’d be off my rocker if I said all I did was go to class, study and sleep.
But if I am enjoying myself at the university, I’m not running around with fake weapons and clothing accessories as if I were an extra in a George Romero film.
Since I was accepted at the university, I have been involved in two incidents with Humans vs. Zombies. I don’t have a vendetta, I promise. The first one was more passive. I was with a friend for spring’s Orange and Blue debut to check out some of our players for the fall football team and Dance Marathon. In between the trek from our car to the game, I spotted a student who looked nearly depraved with a bandana reading “ZOMBIE.” This guy was way too into this.
The second incident occurred this past week. It was actually an act of concern on behalf of some Humans vs. Zombies players right after I had donated blood for the first time and was visiting a friend in her dorm.
The horde of zombies walked by me screaming “Not human. Blood donator. Keep going!”
OK, guys, thanks a lot, but I’m actually a human with flesh and bones, and, by the way, you’re taking this too seriously.
Don’t you all have somewhere to be on this lovely Friday evening?
So how do we fix it? Common sense solves a lot of things. Remember you’re representing the university and don’t be a buffoon. It might also serve the organizers well to determine a better time frame for the game. An all-out late Friday night 12-hour consecutive game would be much more logical and, frankly, a bit more difficult to the participants with less time to complete objectives and a much quicker pace.
After the Corry Village incident and another arrest for the football team, a zombie attack is the last thing potential students and parents want to hear about.
Sean Quinn is a first-year political science student. His column appears every Wednesday.
