Students Conquer the Campus

[The photo gallery is below the article. Enjoy! -Web Ed.]

As is their purpose, the UAB (University Activities Board) planned and successfully executed a fun-filled afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 18. Campus Conquest took place in the Quad with a “Survivor” theme.

This event, according to Luis Salazar, a junior and the chairman of Campus Conquest, can be described as a “messy field-day.”

Four teams participated in events that got them dirty, muddy, and wet; these teams were the Diehm Team, Team Patriot Act, the B Team, and Scorched Earth.

Salazar managed to pull off the event with no major problems, thanks to   careful planning.

“It’s definitely a lot of fun,” said Salazar. “I had a lot of fun planning it.”

Salazar was hard at work planning Campus Conquest back in July, integrating activities from the previous Campus Conquests that had worked well before, according to IanLong, the co-advisor of the UAB.

Long found that the event the students thought to be the most fun was Steal the Bacon. This involved two teams fighting over a tire that was placed in between them in homemade mud.

“It’s fun and very messy,” said freshman Becca Douglass, a member of the Diehm Team, the winners of the first round of Steal the Bacon.

Karaoke was another contest that provided plenty of entertainment. Each team chose a song that they sung along with and danced to; some teams were more rehearsed than others. Team Patriot Act won the karaoke section of the afternoon.

“I’m really excited,” said junior Kaila Repman, a member of Team Patriot Act. “We practiced for an hour this morning before we came.”

Both Douglass and Repman said they plan on participating again next year.

Participants also enjoyed getting messy while scavenging for cardboard survival items in a baby pool filled with a concoction of water, shortening, flour, leaves, maple syrup, whipped cream, eggs and sticks.

Other activities included an egg toss, balloon blast, a pie eating contest, a big pants sponge toss, tug of war, chariot races, a soaked sponge relay and an obstacle course.

The grand-prize winner was Team Patriot Act who won about $200 for their efforts. The Diehm Team came in second while Scorched Earth and the B Team tied for third.

Overall, the UAB’s co-advisor felt the event went well.

“I think the participants had a great time,” said Long. “It’s such a fun and low-stress event.”

This year’s chairman of Campus Conquest, Salazar, already looks forward to next year’s event. He does plan on running for the chairman position of the event next year as well and says that hopefully, it will be even better than this year’s Campus Conquest.

“It went really good,” said Salazar. “We had a really good time watching them get messy.”