By the nature of the game, Humans versus Zombies (HVZ) will inevitably clash with the non-playing population of KU.
Despite the occasional run in with that part of the student population that does not take part in the game, HVZ for the most part tries to stay clear of any mishaps.
Last Thursday, however, Public Safety received multiple calls from an anonymous student who insisted that public safety see what was going on and attempt to stop the game.
According to William Houlette, President of HVZ, members of public safety approached him to make sure that they were not breaking any rules or regulations that the two groups agreed upon at their once-a-semester meeting.
Houlette said, that at these meetings, he discusses the number of players, when they are playing and the dates of events held on campus so that the group does not disrupt KU scheduled events.
“This year’s meeting had a lot to do with playing around the construction,” Houlette said during a moderator’s meeting in Old Main on Monday night.
To insure that innocent bystanders are not being attacked, they have a policy requiring players to ask before pointing their foam blasters at the intended player.
HVZ also has a system of how they keep track of who is playing by giving each player an identification card.
“Each player gets an identification card that shows they are in the game,” Houlette explained. “The card shows who they are and how many strikes the player has.”
Each player gets three strikes until they are kicked out of the game for the semester. When a player gets kicked out of two games, they are out of the club for good.
“It’s better to be a zombie than to hit someone with a foam projectile and deal with the repercussions,” Houlette said at the group’s moderator meeting.
Houlette pointed out at the meeting that members should be careful of the words they use when discussing their armaments. Rather than the word gun, they use “foam-blaster” and replace words like ammunition to “foam darts.”
Non-playing students who have issues with the way the game is played are encouraged by HVZ to come to meetings at 11 a.m. on Thursdays in Old Main in room 287.
By Dan Clark
