Security concerns end Humans vs. Zombies game

Fear not, for Zombies are no longer prowling around the campus.

The University Police advised the NERF Activity Society on Wednesday to halt its playing of the Humans vs. Zombies game, which would have been played for two weeks beginning Oct. 31.

"There was a mutual agreement to cease and desist the game," said University Police spokesman Paul Dillon. Police met with members of the group last week to discuss safety concerns raised by university members and agreed to stop the game until further notice, he said.

The police's concerns arose when they received a call from a professor about a man who seemed to be carrying a real gun, Dillon said. Through an investigation, they found the person was a member of the NERF Activity Society, he said.

Sean McCready, the group's president and a senior fire protection engineering major, said they decided to halt the game because "we thought that it would facilitate communication" between the group and the police.

Following their meeting with the police, the NERF Activity Society contacted members by phone and e-mail about the decision to postpone the game indefinitely. The group then held a general meeting to make sure everyone knew the game had ceased, said Tevis Tsai, the group's secretary and a junior mathematics major.

"Everybody knew within half an hour the game was canceled," McCready said.

Tsai said the game play will not continue until they have spoken again with police and advisers.

"We will be evaluating the safety aspects of the game," Dillon said, adding that he was concerned people may not feel safe when they see someone dressed in dark colors carrying a NERF blaster.

Humans vs. Zombies is a campus-wide game played 24 hours a day and was officially sanctioned by the Student Government Association last October. There are at least 110 players that registered for the game this year using its new Facebook application. The goal of the game is for the "zombies" to turn the humans into their own kind by stealing the bandana of a human. Humans can use NERF blasters to defend themselves against zombies, Tsai and McCready said.

Game players are required to wear a brightly colored bandana and to follow strict safety rules that are explicitly stated on the group's website. The group also specifies many safe zones, so that play is mainly conducted only outside.

"None of us are fond of stopping the game," said Dustin Herbert, a senior computer science major who joined the game his first year at the university to meet new friends.

Another club member, Matt Jordan, a senior math and physics major, said, "Ideally, the future of the game will be safe and fun for everyone. If the University Police continue to suspend the game, the game may no longer be able to survive."

newsdesk.dbk@gmail.com