Yes, those were zombies on UNC’s campus. They promoted safety while seeking braaaains.
For a college student, danger lurks in a thousand places: Ramen noodles boiling on a hot plate, weekend drink specials at an off-campus bar, fourth-floor apartments with no easy fire exit.
But on Thursday, UNC-Chapel Hill students got an ominous reminder to prepare for emergencies when a horde of zombies came staggering out of the Student Union, drawn by the heavy scent of brains.
The undead army — their hair matted, their sores festering — crawled into The Pit and grabbed at passing undergraduates. When the zombies drew near enough, they handed their prey a pamphlet, and suddenly, the idea of safety demonstrations grew more appealing.
“I was going to walk right by,” said Eli Fried, a sophomore, “but then I saw the zombies.”
Thursday’s Zombie Preparedness Festival combined a variety of public safety groups — Chapel Hill police, Orange County sheriff, UNC Environment Health and Safety — to educate the thousands of Tar Heel students on how best to face the hazards of college life.
At one end of The Pit, students learned to operate a fire extinguisher and practice putting out an actual blaze.
At the other, they donned “Fatal Vision” goggles meant to simulate drunkenness, walking a straight line as an officer ticked off warning signs of impairment.
At another, they ate snow cones while learning about the campus SafeWalk program.
If they visited enough booths while dodging enough zombies, they got a free T-shirt.
With zombies’ inducement, the line stretched several dozen students long.
“Stick around,” noted one emergency educator. “We’re going to be burning fake dorm rooms later.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 1:41 PM.