On Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. a large, informal (though Facebook official) game of capture the flag happened on campus that 70 people attended. The event was created by Zach Maino, a senior majoring in exercise physiology who came up with playing it on campus after going to his friend’s bachelor party.
Each student organization is required to go through a formal recognition process. Once that is completed, members should start promoting the organization to Eastern Michigan University students. There needs to be a faculty or staff adviser for the organization.
After the game ended, Maino started a Facebook group called “Xtreme Capture the Flag,” where people who participated in the first game are currently discussing the positive and negative aspects of the night, as well as where Maino created a survey to find the next time to meet.
After the initial Facebook event was posted, people began hearing about the game in more unusual and personal ways.
Freshmen Greg Wash, Aaron Bolton and Adam Watson were commuters in the same Fusion Orientation group. Watson had heard about the game through a friend, and when Bolton and Wash were seen wandering around campus before the first day of classes, Watson filled Bolton and Wash in on the game.
Imran Saifudin, a freshman, found out about this event through Sigma Nu and told others in his dorm about the game. That is how Saifudin’s neighbors, first-years Michelle Carter and Taurie Davis, were able to join the fun.
Carter said, “I love EMU, and am ready for school to start.”
Although Davis was a little bit apprehensive about being able to handle school, she said college feels like a big sleepover at this point.
Ellen Weaver, an NSOA leader for Fusion, was sleeping when she got the call about the game, but when she heard that capture the flag was going on she said she was pumped.
People were so enthusiastic to play that it took more than a half hour to actually give directions, break into teams and explain the rules.
Players must first divide into two equal teams. Both teams get about five minutes to hide their flags before the game can start. It needs to be played in a large, open area so people can run, hide and duck.
There must be a neutral area, which is called the midline. Each team then hides its flag on its own side. The goal of the game is to capture the other team’s flag without being caught by the opposing team. If opposing team members touch a player while they have a flag, they are then put in “jail.” Players can get out of jail if their own team member frees them by touching them.
The midline was the pool at Big Bob’s Lake House. The red flag was at the Student Center on a picnic table, and the blue flag was at Buell Hall. The game was supposed to start at 8 p.m. but officially started at 8:40 p.m. There was a Red team wearing red shirts, and a Blue team, wearing blue shirts, with 35 people each.
The Red team’s strategy was to distract and be on defense, while the Blue team was on offense for the first game. Meagan Hefner, a senior who was wearing all black, put her red T-shirt on her head over her face, so only her eyes were visible. She used her red shirt as a goofy mask to distract others.
For the second game, the roles were switched. The Blue team ended up winning the first game, but the second game was tied after 75 minutes.
As students walked by the ongoing game, quite a few showed interest in playing.
One student, Liz Cheerambelal said, “I would definitely play next time if I had known earlier, and had a pair of shoes, I almost took my shoes off, and just started running.”
Maino said there will be another game of capture the flag, but the date is still to be decided. He does know it will take place on the south side of campus by Sherzer and Pierce halls. He is also in the process of designing T-shirts so the teams can be recognized more clearly.
There should be fliers out before the next game, but for more information on capture the flag games at EMU, e-mail Maino at zmaino@emich.edu .
To find out more about starting a student organization, go online at http://emich.edu/campuslife/student-organizations/start-an-org.
