By Kyle Peveto, Staff Writer
Mabee residents are making the shower cap part of their fall wardrobe.
Freshman men who participate in the “Assassins” water gun tournament must hunt down an assigned victim before they are shot by another competitor.
Participants who wear shower caps on their heads cannot be “eliminated.”
Mabee resident assistants Leland Sawyer, junior youth and family ministry major from Mesquite and Mike Crane, sophomore youth and family ministry major from Grapevine, started the game to get freshmen acquainted.
“We thought it would be a good way for the guys to get to know each other,” Crane said.
The game has become wildly popular among freshmen in the two weeks since it started. Three games are currently winding down, with each game originally consisted of 50, 22 and 34 participants.
Each participant initially received a name of another player that he had to eliminate.
When a player eliminates his assigned target, he takes the responsibility of shooting the target of the player he just eliminated.
A winner is declared when a player receives his own name as his target.
When players signed up for the game a prize was not yet determined, but winners of the tournament will probably receive two movie tickets.
If a player sees another participant attempting to eliminate him, he may shoot the assassin and win a 24-hour grace period before that player is allowed to target him again.
Participants signed contracts stating the rules before entering the game.
Players may not shoot during class, Chapel, church or in the dorm during quiet hours, which is 10 p.m. to 10 a.m.
Players are also responsible for any water damage that is caused by the game.
Gun size is not limited by any of the stated rules, but the contract states, “When you eliminate someone, one squirt is sufficient; this is not a contest to see who can get another person the wettest.”
Participants who have not been eliminated are easy to spot, probably wearing shower caps continuously or approaching every corner or open door with a heightened sense of paranoia.
“I lost my pride after a couple of days,” said Marion Harris, freshman bio chemistry major from Arlington. “I started wearing my shower cap everywhere.”
