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Annual zombie attack comes to UT’s campus

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A group of students discuss strategy to defeat zombies at the event from September 2012. This year oUTbreak will take place Oct. 16-24.

Josie Schreiber and Abigail Sullivan

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Prepare yourselves — zombies will plague the University of Toledo campus soon after you return from fall break.

The annual Humans vs. Zombies event will take place on Oct. 16 beginning at 8 a.m. and will last until Oct. 24.

“Humans vs. Zombies, or oUTbreak as we like to call it, is basically like a giant game of tag on campus,” said Nick McCullough, president of Ad-Hoc and a third-year criminal justice major.

McCullough said oUTbreak is put on to give students an opportunity to meet new people, participate in a simulated zombie apocalypse and is a stress reliever to many students on campus.

“I have met some of my best friends through this game,” McCullough said. “And it has gotten me involved in other organizations on campus.”

McCullough has been involved with the event for the last three years.

Chad Barnes, a third-year electrical engineering technology major has also played a role in oUTbreak.

“I’ve played it every semester the last two years, and I helped run it in the spring semester,” Barnes said.

Maxwell Barnt, a fourth-year majoring in independent studies and criminal justice and Ad-Hoc’s quartermaster, said the humans of the game are required to wear a bright armband, and the zombies are required to wear a bright headband or bandana.

This is so players will be able to indicate whether or not a student is participating, or just walking on campus.

The quartermaster is in charge of any equipment throughout the game and during the off season.

“The game usually lasts a week, and on the first day, an original zombie, or OZ, is released,” Barnt said.

Barnt said the OZ’s job is to tag the human two-hand tap style which will result in that human turning into a zombie. The new zombie will then help the OZ tag more humans, thus creating a zombie horde.

There will be missions that both teams will participate in with benefits or penalties depending on their outcome.

At the end of the week, Barnt said there will be an “extraction.” This will be the remaining human’s “final stand against the zombies.”

Barnt has participated in oUTbreak since it began in 2010.

Barnt said he started out as just a player, but since then he has either served as a game coordinator or has assisted the current coordinators in making the game possible.

“Every game, I tell myself that this is going to be my last game,” Barnt said. “But I don’t find myself quitting anytime soon.”

In order to participate, students are required to attend one mandatory safety briefing.

Safety briefings will be held at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. from Oct. 6 until Oct. 16.

All safety briefings will be held in Student Union Room 1505.

At the briefing, rules will be set, participants will sign a liability waiver and they will register on a website, receiving a code to give to the zombie who tags them, if they get tagged.

To protect themselves from the zombies, Barnt said humans will use either Nerf Blasters or balled-up socks.

These will stun the zombies for a designated amount of time. Barnt said that time is usually around 15 minutes.

McCullough said Ad-Hoc is going to try to host more Nerf wars throughout the semester as well as host invitationals inspired by other schools, like Bowling Green State University and Western Michigan University.

Playing oUTbreak gave past attendees an opportunity to gain more than a human or zombie status.

“One thing I tell people about the game is that it brings people who wouldn’t normally interact with each other together,” Barnt said. “It is an incredible social experience that I feel more people should participate in.”

Barnes concurred with Barnt.  “When it comes to [Human vs. Zombies], I saw it as a way to get out of my comfort zone,” Barnes said. “It allowed me to meet new people and be myself.”

Barnes said oUTbreak is a social event that is a way to open up and have “some good, old-fashioned fun.” The event is free and open to anyone ages 18 and older.

“It’s a game where you get to chase your friends and shoot each other with Nerf Blasters,” Barnes said. “What more could you ask for?”

For more information, visit www.humansvszombies.org.

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Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.
Annual zombie attack comes to UT’s campus