Find, don't fear, the turtle

Right now, they could be anywhere.

Tiny turtles, planted by the university, are hiding in bushes, sitting atop trees or even resting behind a desk chair, trying not to fall asleep during a boring lecture.

In reality, these turtles are not alive, but are instead 570 plastic, 3-inch figurines that were hidden earlier this month as a part of a campus-wide contest sponsored by a division of university relations. As of yesterday, 170 have been found and 400 are still lurking somewhere around the campus as the university continues to implement the multi-phased competition. All of the turtles could be planted by early October, university officials said.

Other than the size of these turtles, very little is known about the initiative. Many ambiguous posters pointing students to the contest's website — feartheturtle09.com — are posted around the campus.

The university-created website features a tiled mosaic of a turtle photo, with each tile representing one of the 570 hidden turtles. Once a turtle is found, the corresponding tile is replaced by a small square of a campus map.

The initiative is intended to inspire school spirit.

"The turtles are a reminder of our university rallying cry: Fear the Turtle," university spokesman Millree Williams wrote in an e-mail. "What if that special drive and determination exhibited by all Terps was actually caused by the spirit of a fierce turtle inside of us? Always urging us on. Always hungry for the next great thing, [such as a new idea, or] another Nobel Prize or national championship. So, why not take the opportunity of our new year, a new semester, to embody that little voice in turtle replicas and hide them around campus, then reward whoever found the prize?" 

The prizes range from ice cream cones, Starbucks and Applebee's gift cards to iPods, T-shirts and tote bags.

So far, students have only won gift certificates to Starbucks and Applebee's, Williams said, adding that there's also a ‘grand daddy' prize.

"[It's] still a secret, but one that is worth the effort," Williams said.

Although the university's goal is to reinvigorate Terp pride with a turtle hunt, students seem confused by the initiative. The few who know anything are unsure what it's about.

"I saw a poster, but otherwise nothing," sophomore physics major Julia Salevan said.

Similarly, Will Voorhies, a sophomore theatre major, may have missed his opportunity to cash in on a prize because he was unaware of the contest.

"I saw one in a dorm," Voorhies said. "But I didn't know what it was for."

Other students have been feverishly looking for turtles, going so far as to skip out on other obligations to find them.

"Two of my friends missed an appointment because they were running around searching for them," senior communication major Mikkel Minor said.

The turtle hunt is still in its early stages, and the second phase of the initiative is set to begin sometime in early October.

The next phase will include better prizes, Williams said, but the turtles will be harder to find. In addition to the turtle hunt, the university will be creating other fun initiatives throughout the year to keep students full of spirit and on their toes.

"[The turtle hunt] is a reminder that we are Terps," Williams said. "Several months ago there seemed to be a general campus concern that ‘Fear the Turtle' might go away. It is not, and this fall promotion, which we hope to do each year in one form or another, is a reminder that ‘Fear the Turtle' is here to stay."

ga@umdbk.com