The sound of hammering nearly overwhelms the Burton-Judson courtyard as students clad in matching green shirts build a strange wooden structure. Nearby, others intently tape soda cans together. Such bizarre behavior can only be explained by Scav, UChicago's four-day scavenger hunt. It may only have been April 10th, but the Burton-Judson Scav team—or “Dr Scodel’s League of Atrocious Wonders” (“S.L.A.W.”, for short)—was eagerly engaged with their very own mini-Scav.
Starting on Thursday, May 6th, students all over campus will ignore homework, RSOs, and often their better judgment in an attempt to fulfill a list almost three hundred items long by Sunday. For most of its participants, Scav lasts four days. For the leaders of each team, it never ends.
Four captains preside over S.L.A.W.’s leadership, known collectively as Def Con. Weekly meetings allow the captains “to make sure that when Scav comes it happens easily for everyone who’s not involved in the planning,” said second-year and captain Grace Fisher. “There’s wood there, there’s paint there, there’s a structure in place for how to organize and claim items…to make sure that the rest of the team has an awesome experience.”
Def Con started collecting materials—wood, PVC pipes, cardboard—at the beginning of spring quarter. But preparation for Scav requires more than materials. Def Con has also worked hard to raise awareness. “During my first two years, Scav at B-J was definitely not as intense as it is now,” said fourth-year Katie Morris, a member of Def Con with the position of Team Mom. “It’s definitely a lot more organized, there’s definitely more people in all houses involved…there’s been a momentum gaining with B-J Scav team. We went from fifth my first year to third, to second.”