UPDATE: April 2: The University has approved a weeklong Humans vs Zombies game. The event will take place from April 6-10 between the hours of 7 a.m.-10 p.m. each day.
To play, students must sign a waver, create an account and register at hvzsource.com/hvzauburn. A table in the Student Center Game Room has been set up to receive wavers from Thursday, April 2, to Friday, April 3.
The decision to allow Humans vs Zombies to play campus-wide came with some trepidation from Risk Management, the University organization that ultimately approved the game. As a result of previous incidents and concerns, the game will not allow the use of Nerf guns. Additionally, the game is not allowed to be played in parking lots or Tiger Transit areas for safety reasons.
For more information, a complete list of rules and a copy of the waver; visit Auburn's Humans vs Zombies Facebook page.
Auburn University quarantined a zombie infestation in the 2013-14 academic year. Despite qualms with the University, Ralph Brown Draughon Library will host its sixth Humans vs. Zombies game Friday, March 13, at 7 p.m.
The library works with Humans vs. Zombies administrators, such as Kevin Duke, senior in software engineering, to schedule these games.
“(The library) is very eager to do this game because it’s fun for them, and it’s a good publicity event for the library,” Duke said.
Jayson Hill, marketing and public relations specialist for RBD Library, took over the library’s Human vs. Zombies game in the fall 2014 semester. His office in RBD Library has several zombie-themed posters, and he keeps a double-barreled Nerf shotgun atop the cabinet behind his desk.
Hosting Human vs. Zombie games, according to Hill, started as a way to make the library a more approachable place for students.
This “outreach event” is similar to Tailgate at the Library, which is held the day before the first home football game.
“We want to make the library an inviting place; a place you want to come to,” Hill said. “There is a very high correlation between going to the library, study or get your research done, and succeeding. We want students to come for that reason.”
After the library invited student groups and organizations to host events in the library in 2012, the Humans vs. Zombies group responded with “great enthusiasm,” according to Hill.
“(Humans vs. Zombies) is always looking for a place to have a game, and they seem to have a hard time getting places to play,” Hill said. “We said, ‘Let’s give it a shot. We’ll try it once and see how it works, and if it works out, we’ll go from there.’”
The first game was limited to 200 students. Now, the library is allowing in 300 players after turning away 30-40 students once their game reached capacity last semester.
“(The students) seem to love it, of course,” Hill said. “Who wouldn’t love a nice game of tag running around the library?”
But this game of tag involves Nerf guns, an item that has raised many safety and risk concerns for the University. Last year, the University denied the Humans vs. Zombies group’s request to play campus-wide for the first time.
For their five-day, campus-wide event, lackadaisical walks to class became a fight for survival against the zombie horde.
Humans, who wear bandanas around their arms, defend themselves against zombies, who wear bandanas around their heads, with Nerf guns. Humans vs. Zombies had approximately 400-500 students participate in their campus-wide event.
“(Humans v. Zombies) was honestly the most fun I’ve ever had doing any kind of event on campus,” Duke said. “How it changed how you went to class and just the entire atmosphere of the campus for the whole week was really exciting. I don’t think there’s been anything quite like it that’s been done on campus since.”
However, Risk Management and Safety has concerns with how Humans vs. Zombies is played. According to Christopher O’Gwynn, University risk manager, these safety concerns are why the game was denied permission to play on campus last year.
“We are not trying to take away the fun of being an Auburn student, but we do have to be concerned about safety and security on campus,” O’Gwynn said.
Humans vs. Zombies players were reported to be running around in parking lots and transit areas. The fear, according to O’Gwynn, is students will be hit by a car or bus because they are not paying attention to their surroundings. This lack of awareness also extends to participants who have damaged foliage while playing, which the University must pay to repair.
O’Gwynn also said he is concerned for students who are not a part of the game and are unaware of what is happening when they see participants playing. During one week of Humans vs. Zombies, O’Gwynn recalled an incident where the police were called because a person was lurking in the bushes near dorms during the early evening.
“The last thing we want is to have the police on campus [because of the game],” O’Gwynn said.
In addition to students being bumped into and a general lack of awareness, modified Nerf guns are another major reason why Humans vs. Zombies was denied last year, according to O’Gwynn.
The University is concerned with Nerf guns modified to shoot faster and harder, which maylead to an injury, according to O’Gwynn. Additionally, participants have a history of painting their Nerf guns to look like real weapons.
O’Gwynn said he remembers a student dressed in camouflage with a painted Nerf gun walking across the front of his building the day after Humans vs. Zombies administrators agreed to ban such modifications.
Although it may be difficult to ensure 400-500 students are following the rules established by the University and Humans vs. Zombies, O’Gwynn said this is not a good enough excuse.
This year’s Human vs. Zombies game is pending approval.
Risk Management and Safety is waiting for Humans vs. Zombies’ plan of how they will communicate with the campus, a map of the play area, their plans for rule breakers and advertising plans.
If the campus-wide game is given permission, Nerf guns will not be allowed, according to O’Gwynn. Students must use socks or marshmallows and are expected to clean promptly after play. Bus stops and major roadways will also be out of bounds per the University’s requirements.
“I would just really like to see the game run in any form this year since it didn’t happen last year, and because the management and all of the University staff that just don’t believe that the game was ever run as promised,” Duke said. “In the meetings with them, they were kind of saying, ‘Fool me enough times and you just stop believing it after a while.’ I would really like to restore faith in the game through the University’s eyes so that they might give us more leniency in the future with that kind of thing.”
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