Members of student clubs participated in a Survivor-themed competition at Stamp Student Union Friday as part of Student Entertainment Events’ All Niter. The organizations competed in six challenges for a chance to win a cash prize. 

Laura Hood, a staff member of the Stamp Student Union Activities Team and SEE’s manager of student programs, organized “Survivor: Stamp” as part of All Niter. 

Hood said teams had six challenges they had to compete in, and with each challenge, some groups were eliminated. Several clubs participated to potentially win prize money to fund their organizations.  

With an atmosphere thick enough to cut, teams concentrated on the challenge, pausing only to listen to how to build their Jenga creations. With barely any walking space in SORC, teams densely huddled together.

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They were helped along by the host, a stand-in for Survivor’s iconic television host Jeff Probst. The mood lightened considerably once the winners of the round were announced. 

“I wanted to make sure that a lot of student groups got a little bit of money to enhance their events,” Hood said. “We saw such a big turnout this year that we’re definitely looking into doing it with more [money].”

Hood said the Stamp Activities Team may look into partnering with the university’s Student Government Association to raise the event’s budget.

Hood said that the challenges included puzzles, endurance exercises, speed and scavenger hunts. One challenge required teams to search for clues hidden all throughout Stamp to decode a message. 

She said winners of each challenge would win about $50 per challenge, with the amount increasing as clubs made it through more challenges. The first-place team would likely win up to $600 in prize money for their student organization.

Freshman bioengineering major Adib Khan, a member of the university’s juggling club, said the club hoped to win challenges to fund better juggling equipment, which included rubber chickens. Khan also said the funds would be going towards the club’s annual Congress of Jugglers event.

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The juggling club won third place in the first challenge, which helped its chances for success, Khan said. 

“It was very stressful, but it was very rewarding,” Khan said.

Nathan Munoz, a senior cell biology and molecular genetics major, said the challenges posed a bonding moment for his team, Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed community service fraternity on campus.

Competing in Stamp’s Survivor is one of the many ways the fraternity raises money to fund its community service endeavors, Munoz said.

Munoz said the Alpha Phi Omega team nearly messed up during the decoding challenge, where the team members had to rush to get the correct answers in time after realizing they had the wrong ones. 

“It was really hectic. We didn’t think we were gonna make it, but luckily we did,” Munoz said. “We went through, so that’s what matters.”