Post Zombie Walk Reaction

After the walk was over, I really needed to sit down and think to myself about what exactly was it that we were trying to prove. On my first post, I made it clear that our objectives was to show our admissions department that their slogan "dare to be different, you'll fit right in" and the price it cost to go here, is creating this space in where its students are alive, but "dead" (zombie). Dead in the fact that once a student is done with the university, the university will continue to follow them until they pay of their debt. Before the walk, I felt really great. Everyone was in the classroom getting "zombified." The only thing I was concerned about was the actual time this walk took place. Although our main target was Admissions, we still wanted there to be a bigger student body as an audience because most of them would have been able to relate with how we feel about the University. The fact that this walk took place in the early hours of the day, we weren't going to have this advantage which led to the reactions that we received. We looked really scary (refer to pictures in other post) but people really didn't get what our purpose was. As I mentioned in my highlight post, we were noticed by the marketing department, but I still don't believe that they knew what our purpose was because if they did, we probably wouldn't have gotten posted on the official social network pages of the University. If there was a random news station driving by and saw us, the story would of been bigger because if a story was done about how private liberal arts schools like Redlands, zombifies its students, the university would have to do something about it, not just for us, but for the future students it was "trap" Although we didn't get what we wanted from the walk, I know that we will live in the social media forever. What's going to happen next Halloween at the good U of R? What would you have done different? Remember to be different or you won't fit in ;)

Highlight of the Walk

The best part of this walk, in my point of view, was when we were asked by the marketing department to pose for a picture. Little did we know that within a couple of hours, that picture was going get posted on the University of Redlands official social networks page (Facebook and Instagram) The thing that really got to me was that the caption read “Zombies daring to be different this Halloween.”

Zombie Walk

On October 31st, 2013 at 10:00a.m a zombie walk took over the University of Redlands that Halloween morning. This group of students wore the mask of the zombie in order to pose as debt-ridden and deceased students who were led by their mascot (a bulldog) to represent how the university's financial demands has taken control of its students, rendering them lifeless. This walk was a way for the students to stick it to the man (admissions office) and show them how increases in tuition have transformed them into lifeless humans that have given in to the universities demands of being a bulldog. Throughout the walk, our mascot was telling us to “dare to be different, you’ll fit right in” because that is how the university brands its prospective students. I even caught myself telling people that weren’t part of our walk to join us and be different because that is what the university would have wanted.

Och Tamale Gazombie Gazump

A zombie apocalypse will be taking over the University of Redlands this Halloween morning! Debt-ridden and deceased Redlands students were led by their mascot to represent how the university's financial demands has taken control of its students, rendering them lifeless. This zombie walk will be a way of us trying to hand it to the man (Admissions) and let them know what they have created. Our hope is that we will show not only our students, but the prospective ones that will be coming into this trap of being "different, you'll fit right in" (school brand/logo). In order to make this work we will try to post pictures as soon as the walk is over. We hope that at the end of it, admissions will start to realize what this school is doing to its students. Is a great education with many advantages worth the debt once a student completes their four year tenure? Or should the school continue to provide this great education, but at a reasonable price, whether it being 1) reducing tuition, 2) providing more scholarship opportunities, or 3) bigger financial aid packages.