At 8 a.m. on March 13, some students walked to classes, some to breakfast, some made their way to workouts at Chrouser and some slept soundly in their dorm. Other students began whacking each other with pool noodles.
Every year, MuKappa, an international student group that brings missionary and third culture kids together from across campus, hosts a yearly fundraiser called Espionage. To start the game, students are assigned a “target” they must eliminate by hitting them with a pool noodle. Participants received an email at 8 a.m. with the name of a fellow student who would become their first target.
This year, over 100 students are participating in Espionage. Players must pay a fee, which was $4 this year, to cover the price of a pool noodle and prizes (which are being kept secret until the game is over). The rest of the profits help fund MuKappa’s ministry activities, including outings and events.
To begin the game, the MuKappa board inputs the players into a spreadsheet, where each person is randomly assigned a target. Josh Kannard, a sophomore philosophy major and MuKappa’s vice president, said although it’s a lot of work for the club’s board, he loves being behind the scenes on Espionage. At least one member is on call at all times during the game to sort through student emails announcing they’ve eliminated their target. Remaining players are then assigned a new target, until there is one student left standing.
Kannard said the most exciting part of the game is hearing the elimination stories. Last year, someone signed up Chaplain Angulus Wilson to participate in the game.
“I think someone signed him up,” said Kannard. “My friend had him as her target. She staked out his office and waited for him to come out, and then ran up to him and whacked him with a pool noodle. I don’t think he even knew he was in the game.”
There are a few safe zones where players are immune from any pool noodle-whacking, including chapel, bathrooms, classrooms during class sessions and dorm rooms, unless the target invites their corresponding person into the room. But most everywhere else is fair game, which means students are always on high alert.
Karis Plankeel, a first-year student, said her twin sister was hit by the person trying to eliminate Karis, all while she was still trying to figure out who her target was.
“My sister told me she was talking to a friend in MeySci after class and got tagged by a Fischer RA,” said Plankeel. Her twin told the RA that he had eliminated the wrong sister.
But Plankeel was eliminated just a few hours later, despite knowing who was trying to eliminate her. As she was walking out of Anderson Commons, she was tagged. The RA was also the winner of Espionage last year.
First-year student Sam Hernandez was also eliminated within the first few days of the game.
“I was late to class, so I was booking it down the staircase from Saga,” he said. “I felt a presence behind me. I turned around and saw a pool noodle crashing down towards me. So I dodged and started booking it towards the entrance.”
He said he already knew who was targeting him because of a mutual friend, but he didn’t realize that the person trying to eliminate him was on the track team. “I just ran away. And I would have made it, but the doors stopped me. So I tried to do a loop, but then Jamal came in flying on the wings of eagles and hit me with the pool noodle,” Hernandez said.
“Alliances are made. Friendships are ripped apart as you backstab your roommate or your best friend or your small group member,” Kannard said.
While Espionage may not serve third culture and missionary kids as explicitly as MuKappa’s other events, Kannard said the fact that Espionage is open to everyone allows them to engage with people who aren’t international students.
“Anyone’s welcome to come to our events,” he said. “We don’t want to become a bubble; we want to be the sort of place where students can come for a bit and then launch out into the broader college community. Anyone who wants to be involved can participate, and sometimes that looks like whacking people with pool noodles.”
“Espionage forces you to interact with people you never would have interacted with,” Kannard continued. “It can just be a quick ‘bonk, give me your target, okay bye.’ Or, it has led to conversations and people joking about it.”
Sam Raedeke, another first-year student, said he didn’t previously know the person who eliminated him, but now they recognize each other and can interact outside of Espionage.
“I was leaving chapel to go to my next class, and I stalled a little bit to talk to some friends,” said Raedeke. “As I walked towards Blanchard, I was chatting with my friends, and I felt a sudden whack on my shoulder. I turn around, and somebody asks, ‘Are you Sam?’ I say yes. We shake hands. We congratulate each other on a game well played. And we parted ways.”
The game will continue until all but one person have been eliminated.
