It’s alive! The Northwest College campus has been crawling with activity, from students lounging and studying together, to the zombie outbreak that swept through campus last week.

NWC student Ryan Galindo is one of roughly 329 students living on campus this year. That’s up from 306 students early last fall, which was higher than the previous year by roughly 40 students. Galindo is in his second year at Northwest College — he originally began attending school with his mom before she left to pursue her master’s in sociology, but it made sense for him to stay at NWC and so he moved into the dorms. 

Living on campus has made socializing easier for Galindo, who said he does not frequently seek new people out.

“The openness of the campus definitely helps, either me and my friends are at the dorms doing pool or foosball, or we’re here at the trap or at the center,” Galindo said. “So, a lot of people meet that way.”

Galindo was interviewed in September before the zombies attacked. Each October, zombies invade the NWC campus with the goal of zombifying all campus students — only one can be left standing. Last year Galindo was the last human standing amidst a campus of undead, so as a result he won a prize. 

“We do a lot of activities all around the campus at night and during the day, and the teachers kind of find it funny because kids show up to class with Nerf guns on their backpack and stuff,” Galindo said. “Because anywhere outside the building is free game, you can be attacked.”

The humans vs. zombies game is a popular student activity that appeals to students from all walks of life, said Christopher Dugger, NWC’s residence life coordinator.

The event designates students as either humans or zombies for a week, armed only with Nerf guns. The humans must try to make it to the end of the week without being zombified while earning prizes along the way.

“They’re all out and having fun and engaging each other,” Dugger said. 

Residence life tries to offer a smorgasbord of activities that will catch students’ attention and get them to engage each other. Halloween events are popular, Dugger said. Other events include intramural sports in November and December, bonfires and a casino night. 

The goal is to host activities and events that students of any kind will be interested in, although for each event some students will be more interested than others. One of the big things is allowing students to engage on an informal level, he said.

Carl Pate, who is recently out of the Marine Corps, is attending Northwest College thanks to his veteran’s benefits. Pate is originally from the area and grew up going to NWC’s wrestling camps as a kid, and likes NWC’s smaller size and more personal approach to education. While he doesn’t live on campus he does still participate in campus activities.

“I came over for Paint the Town Red [and] I plan on going to the volleyball games,” he said earlier in the fall. “I try to be involved just because I am a student here, and student involvement is good because if you don’t have your own students involved in your activities, then there’s really no point in hosting activities.”