Zombie Apocalypse Scavenger Hunt

The Zombie Apocalypse Scavenger Hunt will begin at 11 am on Halloween-Thursday, October 31 with check-in at the DPS booth at University Lawn. Last check-in is at 1230 pm

COMING SOON!

California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is one of the nation’s largest single-campus universities, with over 40,000 student enrolled this academic year. The University is located in a dense, urban setting with a history of exposure to large earthquakes including the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. With a majority of the current student population born after 1994, the institutional memory of historic resilience to these earthquakes is beginning to fade. This local earthquake exposure, coupled with other hazards that face the University and region, necessitates emergency preparedness for all members of the CSUN community.

In 2011, the Center for Disease Control launched a web campaign encouraging the public to "prepare for the zombie apocalypse," because if you're prepared for that you'll be prepared for other types of natural and man-made disasters. The campaign was extremely successful and the website received a record number of visits. In 2015, CSUN's Department of Police Services, Emergency Management took the idea of zombie preparedness and implemented it at the University to pique the interest of students by utilizing this strong pop culture theme. Rather than simply aiming to provide education and enhance awareness, students were assisted in creating their own starter disaster preparedness kit through the event.

Using a scavenger hunt concept, students visit different check points on campus and receive one preparedness item for their disaster preparedness kit. Each station is staffed by a different CSUN department or organization, who may also share their services and programs as students complete the scavenger hunt. Once students visit all stations and complete their event disaster kit, they are eligible to be entered in a drawing for zombie & emergency preparedness themed grand prizes.

Many campus partners make the CSUN Zombie Apocalypse Scavenger Hunt a successful and educational event.  The following partners have worked together since summer in preparation for a fun and purposeful day:

• CSUN Department of Police Services - Emergency Management
• The University Corporation - Campus Dining
• CSUN Marketing and Communications
• CSUN Associated Students
• CSUN Residential Life
• CSUN Matador Involvement Center
• Matador Athletics
• CSUN Career Center
• CSUN Student Outreach and Recruitment
• The Oviatt Library
• Tseng College
• CSUN Alumni Relations
• The Soraya
• CSUN Department of Theatre
• CSUN University Student Union

Community resilience during a disaster goes far beyond acquiring supplies. The collaboration of campus partners supports the whole community approach to emergency management. This partnership is a force multiplier in communicating messages and serves to strengthen the social fabric of the campus community through resource sharing and exposure.

This is not your typical preparedness fair.  You may be drawn by zombies to locations on campus you may never have visited before. While improving your disaster resilience, you will have the opportunity to strengthen your Matador resilience through engagement with campus partners.

Participating campus partners have met over the course of several months in preparation for this year's event. Event logistics including the addition of new partners and a bloodmobile were solidified to continue bringing emergency preparedness to CSUN in a fun and engaging event that serves the community. A graphic design student from Student Outreach and Recruitment, Roland Plummer, created this year's amazing zombie artwork and media.

CSUN's Zombie Apocalypse Scavenger Hunt received the Individual and Community Preparedness Award from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2016 in recognition for the creative approach taken by the University to educate today's students in emergency preparedness.