Assassin Report
Friendships have been broken, bribes have been made and blood continues to be shed; it’s spring term, and the game of Assassin has returned. No one wants to find themselves alone on the paths or outside the ten foot radius of a fellow classmate while getting water in dining hall. Watch your back because no one is safe.
The goal: to stay alive.
Assassin is a grade-wide game played with the purpose of bringing students together. If a student chose to play, they were assigned a target in their grade whom they must eliminate, while also defending themselves from elimination. A kill can only be made within a five-foot radius of your target and no one else in your grade can be within 10 feet. All academic buildings, the library, the theater and dorms are off limits, but everywhere else around campus is fair game. The lower, upper and senior classes are currently in the midst of Assassin and are both still battling amongst themselves for a victor from each grade. Preps are expected to start their game next week.
Bella Ilchenko, a prep, said she can’t wait to get started. “I’ve heard that people make friends playing it because you’re forced to always walk with someone else in your grade.”
However, Lower Kathryn McCaughey said it can seem more annoying than fun at times because it restricts the things you can do around campus due to the dangers of being alone.
Assassin is not taken lightly amongst most students, and this competition has changed the atmosphere around campus as the prospect of assassination puts some students on edge. Only a few days ago, lower Sherry Lim was finally eliminated after her record breaking five kills in one day and ten kills over all. A bounty had been offered for her assassination. The senior class has taken its time, with less kills than the lowers over a longer period of time. Two-time champion Rebecca Ju was surprisingly eliminated toward the beginning of the game, so the seniors will be crowning a new victor this year.
Don’t be surprised when you see someone hiding in your common room minutes before check-in, or sprinting across campus in between classes; they’re probably in pursuit of their target. Word spreads quickly and often a target will know who their assassin is, taking away the element of surprise. Because of this, the lower reps decided to “re-shuffle” on Friday night, assigning new targets to all those still standing. Charlotte Polk, a lower rep, said that sometimes it’s uncomfortable to have to assassinate someone you barely know and stalking your target too closely can take away from the bonding purpose of the game, “We wanted to keep things fresh,” she explained. The upper reps also “re-shuffled” on Tuesday.
For many students, assassin has been a fun distracton from academics, allowing students to focus on something other than school work, even if it’s just for the brief time between classes when they’re planning for their next kill. Students feel the hype it creates around campus is a great addition to the excitement of spring term as the weather gets nicer and summer vacation creeps closer.
No one is to be trusted. To all those who still remain; may the odds be ever in your favor.