UNC students participate in humans vs. zombies game

The nearly 500 armed, bandana-wearing students prowling campus are nothing to fear.

The students are simply participating in Humans vs. Zombies, a zombie survival game that began Monday.

This year’s game, UNC’s second and the first with Nerf blasters, had a turnout of 486 students registered to play. About 100 registered last year, said Lucas Espinosa, lead administrator for the event.

During the game, humans are supposed to escape getting tagged by zombies around campus during retrieval missions that are designed to draw participants into the open.

Zombies can be frozen in place for 20 seconds if shot with darts from a Nerf gun or hit by socks thrown at them by humans. They must “feed” — or tag — a human every 48 hours to stay in the game, which is over when the surviving humans have all been tagged or complete their final mission.

The Nerf guns were one of the biggest obstacles to getting the game cleared.

Grace Peeler, mission designer for the game, said it took two separate meetings with UNC administrators to get them approved due to UNC’s strict rules prohibiting gun look-a-likes.

“They were afraid that they’d be too realistic-looking,” she said.

Game organizers met extensively with members of the Dean of Students Office and the Department of Public Safety to iron out details for the hunt.

“You can imagine if a professor saw a student running across campus with a Nerf blaster, that they might be concerned,” said Dean Blackburn, assistant dean of students for community relations.

Making sure the game did not disrupt the school’s normal functions was paramount.

“I guess it would be out of the ordinary to see someone running with a Nerf blaster with zombies chasing after them,” Espinosa said. He started and played in the game last year but had to give up participating this year to run it.

“I’d like to play the game, but we need administrators, too,” he said.

Students could be seen throughout campus Monday with the bandanas around their arms that signify their humanity.

“You become more paranoid,” said Ethan Trifari, a human.

“You’re always looking behind your back,” he added as he constantly peeked over his shoulder for potential zombies, who wear bandanas on their heads.

Trifari said he was having fun during the game’s first day.

“You get into it,” he said.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.