Assassin!

For Theodore J. Kaczynski '62, Harvard graduate and Unabomber suspect, the mailbomb is allegedly the weapon of choice, but for the last two weeks Harvard undergrads have used semi-automatic toy guns.

More than 200 students from Leverett and Quincy Houses participated in games of assassin this past month. Those who survive today have relied on luck, skill and--usually--a tremendous amount of their time.

In the game, everyone is given an assignment to eliminate another participant.

Once someone is killed, the assassin takes on the assignment of the assassinated.

Quincy has modified the rules, so that individuals team up as families.

In Quincy, the game is down to eight finalists and there will be a public 2 p.m. show-down today.

Christopher J. Hernandez '96, one of the final eight in the Quincy tournament, says he spent about two hours a day this week setting up stakeouts.

One student who "for security reasons" wished to remain anonymous, described the actions of the people trying to kill him.

"They were hiding outside of my door at midnight and they were there at seven o'clock the next morning," the student says. "I think they slept in the hallway."

"I really enjoyed it, but I was glad when I was finally killed," says Stacey L. Serafini '97, who was shot when she came out of the Quincy elevator. "It was monopolizing my life."

Jay Dickerson '98 was shot on the first day. But the Quincy resident insists that his death was intentional, saying he didn't want to waste time.

"Unlike others I have a life and I chose to die the first day," Dickerson jokingly said at dinner last night.

For other students, Assassin takes over their life. Myth and lore spread quickly through the hallways and entryways. Legends are made.

One Quincy woman spent a week trying to find out what her target looked like, since he had transferred into the house only recently. When she finally obtained a copy of his picture she enlarged it and plastered copies on the walls of his entryway.

According to Jay B. Shah '98, Leverett House Committee secretary, there have been several bold and exciting kills this year.

"One victim was assasinated when his attacker walked onto the Sanders Theater stage during an HRO rehersal and shot him without saying a word," Shah says.

Another victim was seduced into a room to compare problem sets.

At times the game degenerates into advanced hide-and-seek. One killer hid behind a washing machine for over an hour before shooting her unsuspecting victim.

Leverett's game began on Monday at midnight. By 12:15 a.m. two students were killed when they returned to their room. The assassins were waiting inside. Early deaths can affect a student's future as an assassin.

Eric Brown '97, a Crimson executive, had his childhood visions of grandeur crushed last year when he was shot within 24 hours. "Rambo wouldn't have been proud," the Leverett resident laments. Brown decided to sit this year out.

Daniel L. Cohen '97, Brown's roommate, understands Brown's pain and concerns. When asked why he isn't packing a watergun, Cohen responded "I don't want to be living in fear."

Others, however, disappointed with their finish in years past, have redoubled their efforts this year.

A Leverett senior who was killed in less than two hours last year got in shape for this year's competition.

"My thesis is complete and I thought to myself, 'What better thing to do than improve my cardiovascular condition?" the senior says. "Now I can outrun would be assassins."

The exercise didn't payoff, as she was killed early this week on her way to class.

Ritualized Violence

Participation admittedly requires significant time commitment. Leverett resident Dave C. Hursh '97 is one of many students who, faced with term papers and finals, decided not to play.

"The end of the semester is crunch time," Hursh explained while eating a chickwich, "I would have done it at a different time."

Why, then, do the house committees plan the event so late in the semester?

It may be that warm weather combined with the neo-industrial wasteland-like apperance of Quincy and Leverett provide an atmosphere which encourages games of war.

Some students argue that it is exactly because of the tension and pressure that assassin is so successful. By the end of the year, some students are fed up with their classes and housemates, that they just want to kill someone.

Assassin provides a safe, fun alternative to violence.

Todd A. Bangerter '98, who bought four guns for the Quincy competition, says that the ritualized violence is a direct result of long stretch without a break from the beginning of April through the end of May.

Bangerter believes that there is "a distinct possibility" that the angry, tired student body, now armed with toy guns, will rise in protest of Harvard's academic calendar on the steps of University Hall.