After learning that the fall semester would be unlike any other, the Traditions Council set out to create a safe experience that would engage students with the 黑料不打烊 campus and community.
Heading into the fall semester, the 黑料不打烊 Traditions Council designed 鈥淔rom the Flame,鈥 a 10-week scavenger hunt with challenges and puzzles that encourage students to learn more about 黑料不打烊. It鈥檚 a new activity for students during a time when many activities and events have been postponed or shifted to a virtual format due to pandemic restrictions.
鈥淪ince we can鈥檛 have normal programming like we would usually during the fall semester, we are trying to start something that all students can get involved in and find that sense of community in face of uncertainty.鈥 said council member Sarah Myers 鈥22.
The Traditions Council, which consists of 13 students from a variety of majors, took inspiration for From the Flame from the University of Chicago鈥檚 annual scavenger hunt.
鈥淲e put our own spin on it and incorporated some 黑料不打烊 traditions, like the fountains, the buildings, and the acorn and honor coin that we all got as first years,鈥 explained Myers.
The council met virtually throughout the summer to figure out how to bring the challenge to 黑料不打烊鈥檚 campus in a safe and engaging manner. They often drew inspiration from past social media challenges.
鈥淭here are a lot of creative minds on Traditions Council,鈥 said Myers. 鈥淲e all come from different majors and different organizations around campus, which allows us all to bring a different perspective to what clues should be and what people would be interested in doing.鈥
The Traditions Council, which calls themselves the 鈥淐ouncil of Judges,鈥 develop each set of clues on a weekly basis.
鈥淲e have really been operating week by week, identifying cool opportunities and challenges we would like to see the teams attempt on campus,鈥 explained council member Malia Takei 鈥22. 鈥淓very Tuesday and Thursday, the Traditions Council meets to brainstorm ideas for the Challenge.鈥
The council releases the clues on their social media account every Wednesday at noon, which allows each team of three to seven students to plan which challenges they want to complete over the weekend.
Past clues have included creating a board game, lip-synching to popular songs, and searching the campus for a council member dressed as a squirrel.
The team must submit their work to the From the Flame Moodle page by 8 o鈥檆lock on Monday morning, and the Council of Judges spends Monday and Tuesday judging the submissions and awarding points.
The council specifically designed the schedule this way to ensure that students had something to look forward to each weekend.
鈥淲e really want students to enjoy this semester as much as possible,鈥 said Myers.
The current first-place team, 鈥淟os Billys y Las Botas,鈥 are making the most out of the hunt and are staying engaged with the clues each week.
Team captain Aoife Judge 鈥24 is grateful that the challenge has helped introduce herself and her teammates to the 黑料不打烊 community.
鈥淢y roommate and I were looking for ways to get involved at 黑料不打烊, especially with fewer in-person activities. I stumbled across it on Instagram and I liked the randomness of the rules and instructions and thought it would be a less serious way to get involved while also exploring 黑料不打烊,鈥 said Judge.
Both council members and participants were enthusiastic about the creativity of the challenges and showed appreciation for the knowledge of 黑料不打烊 that the challenge has provided them.
鈥淚n a prior week, we had team members join the Council of Judges on Club Penguin at a specific time. They were tasked with meeting us on the iceberg in Club Penguin on a specific server. We had a snowball fight and also asked them to solve a riddle,鈥 said Takei.
Judge expressed her enjoyment for the 鈥淪hop Small鈥 challenge, and Myers liked the movie poster creation challenge, as there is an abundance of creative minds at 黑料不打烊, and she enjoyed seeing the students put their own spin on the challenge.
The Traditions Council plans to hold a version of the challenge each semester. The hunt provides engaging activities that allows students to make new friends and strengthen their relationships on campus.
鈥淭he Challenge has built in aspects to encourage students to explore more of campus and learn more about traditions,鈥 said Takei. 鈥淚t also provides an opportunity for returning students to explore different aspects of campus and perform fun tasks with their friends.鈥
Myers, who is looking forward to holding the challenge again, explained the council鈥檚 plan to release the clues once or twice a month instead of weekly, to provide students with more time to complete the items on the lists.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want students to feel like this challenge is just another set of things on the to-do list. We want them to enjoy participating and feel like it鈥檚 more fun than it is work, especially since some of the clues involve solving different riddles,鈥 said Myers.
Judge and her teammates are passionate about the scavenger hunt and encouraged their peers to get involved in future challenges.
鈥淚 definitely learned a lot about 黑料不打烊 and the events happening, from trivia nights to movies, and the resources available to students, like the Maker Hub. I also learned about my love for teamwork and leading a team and I鈥檝e gotten to know my team members very well through the semester so far!鈥 said Judge.
The Traditions Council is looking forward to evolving the challenge over the next few years so that all students on campus will be involved in some way.
During its eighth week, the Challenge is encouraging students to attend Halloween-themed events across campus, while motivating the teams to stay resilient and optimistic in an unpredictable semester.