On Thursday, March 15, a zombie contagion began spreading through the California State University, Stanislaus dorms. Humans Vs. Zombies, a game like tag with a team-building and toxic twist, was played by residents until the following Thursday.
The game started with 45 healthy residents—or so it seemed. All players wore yellow armbands and bandanas and switched to green once they were tagged. In this game, even the undead must eat to live. 
One student began the game as a zombie and had the objective of tagging, or “eating,” all other players. Once tagged, a human turned into a zombie and switched teams. Zombies must “eat” at least once every 48 hours to live; otherwise, they are taken out of the game. 
“I got tagged by the original zombie,” said Stephanie Lopez (freshman, Business). “I had no idea who it was. All of my zombie friends would not tell me who it was. It happened to be my roommate’s boyfriend.”
However, the humans were not the kind to go down without a fight. These Warriors armed themselves with ammunition, more specifically wadded up socks. When a zombie was hit by a sock, he or she was stunned and unable to move for 15 minutes.
Eric Meneses (senior, Criminal Justice), a resident advisor in the dorms, organized the event.  He said students got into the game and got to know other people because of it.
“They would go in groups to class, or they would stake out different buildings if they knew someone’s schedule,” Meneses said.
Trinidad Moreno (freshman, Art) lasted most of the game with the help of his own weapon. He attached a sock to a string and swung it at oncoming zombies. Though humans could hide out in safe zones, which included any building on campus, zombies were cunning and attacked when humans had to leave safe zones.
“I felt like I was being chased by actual zombies,” Moreno said. “I had to be aware of everything.”
According to Meneses, zombies and humans made their own respective Facebook pages for strategizing purposes. The shared adventures of hunting humans or warding off zombies brought students together.
“The majority of people who played I didn’t really know them,” Hakela Daralos (freshman, Business) said. “So once I became a zombie, or when someone else became one, I got to interact with a lot of people I didn’t know. So we kinda built friendships within the game.”
Three humans survived the zombie attack at the end of the game, and all but two zombies starved.
“After this, I think a zombie apocalypse wouldn’t be as bad. It would actually be pretty fun,” Moreno said.
Due to the increased interest of students in Humans Vs. Zombies, Meneses is planning a second game after Spring Break for dorm residents.  
Official rules for variations of the game can be found at humansvszombies.org.