BRAINS! BRAINS! Is what students heard as they fought to survive the night. A night to remember is what students experienced after a great event by the NEWman Club Campus Ministry, as they hosted an inspirational event on Saturday February 15th from 8pm-12am at Texas A&M International University. The main idea behind the event was to teach an important message about the value of life and to simulate how to survive in what would be terrible times in a zombie apocalypse.
Brother Peter Francis stated “…is a big game of tag between zombies and humans, but there is an idea behind it and the idea is that the culture of death is sneaking on us…but as long as one of us is fighting, and one of us still trying to make a change, and believes in this city and believes on this nation, there is still hope…” With TV shows like The Walking Dead, and movies like Dawn Of The Dead, the views on how death is perceived has changed. The words by Brother Peter Francis caused a big impact on the participants, some from TAMIU and others from Laredo Community College. TAMIU student, Carlos “Charlie” Elizondo Jr., participated in this first time event and was excited to see something like this activity happening on campus. He commented on the event “its a great idea to cause awareness at the university and something fun to do in Laredo.” Carlos Elizondo was chosen to be the first zombie to capture the humans.
Some of the participants, that had now become zombies, took it upon themselves to give a small twist to the zombie effect, by performing a small version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, keeping the event fun and entertaining. Other songs played like “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer and “I Get Knocked Down” by Chumbawamba were a great way to keep morale up for the students still trying to get away and survive the night. The zombies had now much control of the night and the number of humans remaining became a handful left. Just running away was not enough there was an area designated for students who needed help and safety, called the safe zone, but as time passed by, different scenarios played out compromising the safe zone. Some students ran for cover but others were caught in between survival and zombie food.
Carlos Limon stood alone as the victor of this event and survived with nothing more than a shield and the collaboration of his team. “It was great, I had alot of fun and I did it with no weapon, just a shield, and my teammates…” Limon stated. Several teams were put comprised of friends and individual participants, such as Bromacia, a team ready for action and bravery in their eyes. Fearless and cautious was the name of the game, but at the end only one remained as the sole survivor. Expect more fun events by the NEWman Club as they prepare for their next events of the semester.
More information for the NEWman Club Campus Ministry can be found at facebook.com/Newman.Club.Laredo
(For additional information contact Santos R. Polendo at santos_polendo@dusty.tamiu.edu)