The Daily Sophist

By Adam Janofsky and Ben Zigterman

By twenty to midnight teams from all corners of campus packed into Ida Noyes. Flags waved and students cheered, exuberantly awaiting the release of the 2013 Scav list.

For nearly a half hour, all that could be heard throughout Ida Noyes were esoteric chants–from the lyrics of “Call Me Maybe” to “B-J Scav” to “U.S.A.” And then after a quick countdown to midnight, there was nothing but silence.

Then from the corner of the Ida lobby, an opening appeared as the Scav judges rushed into the crowd. They were carrying basketballs, like scrawny and pale counterparts of NBA stars. Teams erupted with applause, eagerly ready to start the 27th Annual Scav Hunt–by now one of UChicago’s most prized and unique traditions.

One judge got up on a table in the middle of the lobby, basketball in hand, and explained that the Hunt has a Space Jam theme. He then summarized the movie and detailed the various problems with it. He dwelled on the one-dimensional character of Lola Bunny and even admitted, “I personally am made uncomfortable by how attractive I find her.”

After admitting to stalling, he directed the anxious crowd’s attention to a blurry projection screen in the Ida Noyes lobby. On the screen was the URL http://scavhunt.uchicago.edu/monstars.html. The judge directed all the Scavvies to this URL, and the website quickly went down. As Scavvies stood frantic and confused, the judge explained that the list was not in Ida Noyes and sent the various teams on their way.

Earlier in the evening, team captains were sent an email directing them to offer a Scav virgin–someone who hasn’t participated in the past–to the judges. After reaching the website, it became clear that the teams would have to retrieve their virgin by answering obscure Space Jam–related riddles.

After each correct answer, teams were allowed to send a short text to their virgin. After enough clues, the virgins were found–along with the official list–locked up underneath the stage in Mandel Hall.

The teams ran (or biked or drove) their list back to their respective headquarters, and the Hunt was officially on.

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