Students walking to class may have recently seen the familiar sight of Humans vs. Zombies players running and jumping in their neon orange headbands. But unlike previous years, the eternal enemies are now playing against each other to help raise money for a cause.
The Humans vs. Zombies players are encouraging their teammates to donate to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
“We just started working with Children’s Miracle Network this year,” said Hannah Gamache, a 21-year-old UF English senior. “We are eventually going to raise money by getting people to sponsor us for each hour we play. It was a last-minute thing, so we haven’t gotten to advertise a lot, but even $5 a player adds up, and we hope to raise maybe $1,000.”
Yet, without a formal sponsor, players hope to meet this goal with their own money.
“Most of the money comes from our pockets,” said Joshua Cruz, 21. “Players have to buy their own gun since we don’t provide those because it would be expensive. Some people spend $100 on equipment and makeup and such, so instead they can donate some of it and still play.”
Since Tuesday night, UF students have been dueling it out across campus. Humans vs. Zombies is a five-day game of tag where humans must remain vigilant and defend themselves with socks and Nerf guns to avoid being tagged by the growing zombie horde.
As the club’s treasurer, Cruz has been reaching out to various organizations trying to ensure that future games will be able to raise more money.
“We have been making connections and are finally getting money for next semester, so hopefully it will get bigger,” the UF finance senior said.
While preparation has helped the club figure out ways to give back to the community, there is no amount of training that helps players prepare for the game.
Gamache said one of the most exciting moments for her was Tuesday night from a previous year when she was still a human and the zombies were coming after her.
“All of a sudden the entire zombie population horde started approaching us, so we ran and quietly hid in the bushes as 40 zombies walked by,” she said.
The game has grown since starting at Goucher College in Maryland in 2005, according to the Humans vs. Zombie’s website.
Some players have mastered the art of shooting Nerf guns and throwing socks, but in order to win, zombies must eat all of the humans or the humans must survive long enough to starve the zombies.
“My best war story is the time I went to attack a zombie, but my gun stopped working. It was jammed, so I am trying to get it to work. I couldn’t fix it, so I threw it and started to run, but then I tripped,” said Clayton Taylor, a 21-year-old UF history sophomore. “I ended up on my back but didn’t give up. I ended up throwing a sock in the air, and it fell and hit her on the head. It felt really good.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 11/6/2014]
Mateo Vasquez, a 20-year-old sophomore, peers through the lens of his Nerf gun on Turlington Plaza on Tuesday afternoon. He was encouraging students to join Humans vs. Zombies, a five-day game of survival.
