Students gathered at the UOG campus to take part in the UOG Public Administration and Legal Studies Program’s annual Zombie Pandemic Challenge on Oct. 23.
This was the third year the organization hosted this event and over 150 people participated, making it the most successful one so far.
The event is well-known amongst the students at the university as one of the most anticipated events of the year and is one of their overall favorite school events.
It’s ability to draw in so many participants makes the event one to look forward for because it gives students the chance to mingle with their peers and it promotes the idea of meeting new people while having fun at the same time.
During the event, the large group was split up into a 14 teams who were given 10 missions distributed throughout the campus that they had to complete while on the run from “zombies.”
The teams were mostly dressed up in athletic attire. Each team exhibited pride, making it a bit competitive, but also friendly atmosphere.
The zombies were mostly students at the university who were decoratively covered with fake blood and torn-up clothes, making their zombie “look” realistic. Their objective was to try to prevent those teams from completing their missions.
The event kicked off in the late afternoon and continued on till sundown, and as the sun slowly set, things definitely got a bit more eerie.
The campus looked like a scene from the “Walking Dead” with participants prowling through the halls.
Students were captivated with fear as they ran around the campus completing their missions.
The distant screams from teams being chased by the zombies served only as a frightening warning for other teams around campus.
Most of the people who were zombies were students who volunteered.
Ardel Tumbaga, 21, and a junior at UOG, had the opportunity to be one of the zombies and volunteered immediately after seeing one of the event’s fliers on campus.
Tumbaga was dressed as a terrifying zombie with his bloodied shirt and torn up face.
“This was my first time being part of the Zombie Pandemic Challenge,” he said. “But I know for sure that it will not be my last”.
“It was a lot of fun! It was exiting and thrilling and it is a great event that gives us the opportunity to make new friends.”
“The best part about it was seeing the faces of frightened people when we run after them.”
“The event seemed like a great success and we really need more of these types of events here at UOG because they really bring us together.”