Amazing Race: Rice Homecoming Edition
On a Monday afternoon in mid-October, 16 teams of Rice students ran, biked and skateboarded away from the RMC start line to search for clues that would lead them closer to the prize: a Rice Coffeehouse gift card. This campuswide scavenger hunt was organized by Metinee Ding and Katie Thomas, RPC Traditions chairs, in honor of Homecoming Week. A couple of the clues* were as follows:
- “To avoid rustication you should follow this rule, don’t go in the water, it’s not that cool.”
- “A game you played when you were younger, right next to a place you leave with hunger. It’s red and big and full of fun, it stands right next to a place of fun.”
Since the race took place on a class day, some team members participated virtually. That strategy paid off for the first-place team: Akin Bruce, Niki Parekh, Rakesh Vijayakumar, Catie Tsai, Tori Joshi, and Kyra Lasota. The winning six came from Brown, Lovett and Martel and represented a wide range of majors.
Top row (left to right): Tori Joshi, Kyra Lasota, Niki Parekh, Catie Tsai
Bottom row (left to right): Akin Bruce, Rakesh Vijayakumar
“I was a little nervous because most of us didn’t have bikes or any way of getting around other than walking, but we still pulled through,” said Bruce, a junior at Lovett. The team finished in just 40 minutes, securing the first-place spot and $15 each to spend at Coffeehouse.
Whether they ended up as winners or not, all participants were able to step away from studying for tests, writing papers or other obligatory activities. In other words, for a couple hours, they were able to take a break from running around campus completing the race of being a Rice student.
*Answers:
- Baker Institute fountain
- Jack statue next to the Gibbs Recreation Center
