All over campus, Seniors have been darting between buildings, stalking their classmates and leaving class early or skipping classes altogether, all in the name of the ultimate game of tag: Senior Spooning. Senior Spooning began on Tuesday, May 7, when all Seniors, except “spooning czar” Maggie LeMaitre ’08, received spoons in their mailboxes with the name of another Senior written on the handle. Seniors must tag their designated victims with their spoon, while avoiding getting tagged themselves. According to LeMaitre, one student hid in Morse for four hours and another went to Isham to avoid being tagged. “A lot of kids get really intense about it,” she said. Cynthia Efinger, Director of Student Activities, said that Senior Spooning has existed throughout her five-year tenure, but she does not believe it has gone on for more than seven to eight years. The rules for Senior Spooning have remained largely the same, Efinger said, with the exception of two rules. Seniors can no longer spoon indoors or during sports, since spooning had become too disruptive. Keith Robinson ’96, Instructor in Chemistry, recalls that his graduating class played a game of Assassins instead of spooning. The rules were slightly different, but the general premise was the same, he said. In order to make a “kill,” Seniors had to touch others with something red instead of a spoon. But the kill would not count if somebody witnessed the kill. Because of this difference, the strategies varied. Robinson said that there wasn’t as much running around campus as there is for spooning, since running would draw attention to the would-be assassin. Many people also tried to walk around in groups in order to always have a witness. But, Robinson added, Assassins was not as popular as Senior spooning is now. In planning this year’s Senior spooning game, LeMaitre spent four hours making assignments and writing down names. After assigning each Senior a number, numbered in alphabetical order, the LeMaitre entered the numbers into a website with a random number generator. She also created a Facebook group with the all the details and the rules of the game. Tags can only occur outdoors between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. and when classes or sports are not in session. When a tag occurs, both students must email LeMaitre with the results. “So far, nobody has been dishonest. There have just been questions about the rules,” said LeMaitre. Nate Thomas ’08 has resorted to somewhat crafty means to stay alive in the game. Thomas said that on the first day of spooning, everyone was standing near the Cage sharing the names of their victims. However, Thomas lied about having someone else and eventually convinced his target to step outside before tagging them. Thomas does not sprint from class to class, and said, “I usually walk to class, but I walk through areas that aren’t very populated.” After sports, he tries to surround himself with underclassmen on his ultimate team to help protect him from potential spooners. He continued, “After the first day we got our spoons, I basically didn’t do my homework and thought about how I was going to stay alive and tag the next person.” Thomas said, “I really can’t tell who’s going to win. Sometimes you just get lucky. Even the people who are most prepared can still get tagged.” Teachers can’t help getting enveloped in the competition either. In an email to The Phillipian, Victoria Glynn ’08 wrote that her Arabic class, which consists mostly Seniors, explained the game to her teacher, Mohammad Harba, Instructor in Arabic. “He thought it was hilarious,” wrote Glynn. “He kept saying, ‘There are no losers in my class!’” Glynn said he offered to hold an 8:00 p.m. study session for students who did not want to leave their dorms for fear of getting tagged. The class convinced Harba to the end class 10 minutes early and to escort each student to their next class, Glynn said. This way, they could claim they were having class outside and thereby remain temporarily immune from being tagged. The class walked right past a student who had been waiting outside, and the remaining students made it safely to Uncommons for lunch. Although Senior spooning has been going on for over a week, the competition may have a long way to go before completion. According to LeMaitre, only about 100 students were left as of Tuesday, May 13. But Efinger said, “It could go right to the very end of the year. I have seen it go all the way to graduation.”
