Zombies have taken Guilford College. Covered in blood, scratches and impeccable costumes, they have invaded the dorms.

Students in the honors First-Year Seminar, “The Zombie Apocalypse,” organized ZomBcon for Saturday, Oct. 29. The event featured a zombie walk which ended back at Frank Family Science Center with a movie and video games.

Students split up the necessary tasks of the conference. They worked by consensus, voting on each decision.

Jed Edwards, a first-year who was a part of the marketing team, said planning the event was an opportunity to incorporate the class into ZomBcon.

“The main goal was to have a clearly planned event that took things from different parts of the class,” said Edwards.

The main part of the event was the zombie walk, which started with some backstory, presented by firstyear Berenice Fuentes.

“A couple, Jennifer and Derek, went swimming in the lake, but they did not realize how gross it was,” said Fuentes.

“They got scratches but did not think much of it. But the scratch- es became infected, and they realized later that night that they were hungry. They infected other students, and now we need to go through the dorms and look for survivors,” said Fuentes.

The students, dressed as zombies, began to do their best zombie walks out of Frank and towards Binford Hall.

“Three … two … one … moan!” said Fuentes as the students exited the building.

Sophie McDowell, a first-year, was on the zombie walk planning team. The walk was deliberate, from the route to the style of walking.

“We wanted to do a slow zombie walk like in “Night of the Living Dead” … Because sometimes the slow-moving zombies are scarier than the fast-moving ones, you know?” said McDowell.

The sight of the students as zombies, wearing an eclectic col- lection of outfits and fake blood, provided an apocalyptic atmosphere. One first-year student, Ayanna Martin, wore a black bridal gown.

“It’s a reminder that you could be doing anything, and the zombies will still get you,” said Martin.

This, they said, reflected some of what the students have been learning about zombies as a representation of the “other” in our own society.

“Thinking about zombies analytically and critically makes you think about how the media uses them to portray what is actually going on,” said Martin.

As students entered Binford, they moaned and leaned against walls, hitting the doors as they passed. Residents poked their heads out, generally looking confused or taking out their smartphones to snap a picture.

A few students joined the zombie walk, which was one of the goals of this portion.

Two first-year students from Binford, Leidis Perez and Carina Holmes, joined because it looked like a fun event.

“I just wanted to be a zombie,” said Holmes.

After storming Binford, Milner, Shore, Mary Hobbs, Founders and Bryan, the students, laughing and talking, began to head back toward Frank.

Zach Schaefer, one of the firstyear students in the planning committee, said the entire experience had been an adventure.

“It’s exciting to portray yourself as something you’re not,” said Schaefer.

Students, both from the class and outside, joined their peers in the auditorium to watch “Zombieland.” Others stood outside and chatted with one another. There was zombie-themed food like cupcakes with hands reaching out the top and bloody red icing splattered around the tray.

Heather Hayton, the FYS professor and Honors Program Director, had students plan ZomBcon as a way to engage with what the students have learned and develop planning skills. She felt it was important to be hands-off and allow students to tackle the task of planning the event themselves.

“The most important part is not what happens tonight,” said Hayton.

“It’s the reflection that happens after.” Steve Moran, the Director of Student Leadership and Engagement as well as the class’s FYE professor, said the event gave students the tools necessary to plan events further on in their college careers.

“I was very impressed at how they were thinking ahead,” said Moran.

Consistently, students said they now feel equipped to help plan events on campus. They now know who to contact, how to reserve spaces and even how to get copyright approval to show a film.

The infection seems not to have caused total mayhem but rather cooperation and pride among these first-year students as they watched their plans come together on this late October evening.