Your tributes have spent a total of one night in Olin Library. Three have perished since then, while three remain. The first parachute will be released tomorrow. Vote on Student Life’s Facebook page to keep your favorites alive.

*Cannons Fire* tribute Rohan has been eliminated

It’s 12:41 a.m., Monday, September 17, 2018, night one of the Olin Hunger Games. I am the first tribute to fall. You may be wondering how I got here…

My story begins well before tonight. Yes, I went wrong long ago—in fact, the very first mention of this experiment.

I should have said no. I should have squashed the idea, this idea that would morph into reality like caterpillar breaking out of cocoon, from the get-go.

But instead I succumbed, allowed this idea to infiltrate the deepest layers of my brain.

“An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And even the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you.”

Destroy me it did. As the preparation proceeded, I crumbled. Less and less did I want to be a part of this, yet more and more I was. As Katniss Everdeen once boldly declared: “I agree to be coerced as tribute.”

Fitting it is that Katniss is the hero of the Hunger Games—Katy, now, deserves credit for her persuasion. I was ready to dip out, never to be seen again, but instead I lasted a full 41 minutes as I waited for the final Green Line of the night.

I don’t regret anything; after all, it is better to have played and lost immediately than to have outlasted the field. My parting thought to my five crazy friends: May the Olin be ever in your favor.—Rohan Gupta

*Cannons Fire* tribute Elena has been eliminated

Well, dear comrades, after coughing up a disturbing amount of mucus in the B stacks bathroom at 4:30 a.m., I realized that I was not quite over the upper respiratory infection I had come down with over the weekend.

I know that my early elimination comes as a shock to many—especially myself.

For a few minutes, I paced the B Stacks convincing myself to power through, when eventually a revolutionary, earth-shattering, grandiose concept emerged in my head: “why?”

Why suffer in the B Stacks when I could go to my cold, dark room on the 40 to achieve some semblance of comfort in my time of sickness?

A more advanced, cooler version of myself would’ve opted for the Olin adventure; but, alas, I am only as strong as my immunodeficient body.

So I packed my bags, left the library, officially setting foot in my dorm at 4:54 a.m.

May it be known that in my final will and testament, I give a roll of Saltine crackers, a jar of applesauce and the pride of Cadenza to my co-editor, Josh Zucker. May the B Stacks be ever your dominion and the odds be ever in your favor—Elena Quinones

*Cannons Fire* tribute Ella has been eliminated

It’s just around 3 a.m. on Monday. And I’ve realized that there’s essentially no way I’ll be able to fall asleep in the library.

After more than two hours spent attempting to doze off—and watching my phone battery drain a full 30 percent—I’ve come to the conclusion that this just isn’t going to happen for me.

My couch bed actually isn’t that uncomfortable, and I’ve managed to ignore the blinding light. The main problem is the noise. Every time I hear footsteps, I start panicking that SOMEONE IS GOING TO FIND ME. And steal my stuff. Or, even worse, tell me this little game is against the Olin Library rules and kick me out of my little home. Also, like, I think a lot of people can’t sleep when it’s loud. Hence, why it’s a thing to call the cops on your neighbors when they’re throwing a raucous party at 3 a.m. and you just want to go to bed.

They say you should either go big or go home, and I’m choosing the latter. I probably won’t be able to sleep there either, but at least the only noise I’ll hear will be the rush of Forest Park Parkway traffic.

Good luck to my fellow tributes.—Ella Chochrek

Active Tribute Logs

Dorian: At 6, I rose from a really strange nightmare. I literally can’t explain it, but it kept me up for the better part of the next two hours. I walked into my 8:30 class more exhausted than usual, and it showed. Within 10 minutes of class, I was slumped. I fought the urge to sleep in bursts for an hour, but I never stayed awake for longer than three minutes. I am not discouraged. We began at 12:30, so this night was going to rough for my sleep schedule. I think I’ll easily rebound tonight.

Josh: Other than a stress-dream I had a fairly uneventful night. After leaving production night and going to a location that will remain secret because of how good it is I worked on homework for a little bit before giving up and giving myself into sleep. Although it took me a while to go to sleep I had a trusty bottle of melatonin with me and slept relatively soundly. I woke up at 9 to find that our game had gone from 6 tributes to 5 to 3 and was thoroughly disheartened.

After shaking myself out of my sleepiness, which all things considered must have been far less difficult than it was for my fellow competitors, I got ready for my first class and trudged out of Olin carrying some noodle soup given to me the night before. Plagued with the sleepies all morning, my only respite came when I was finally able to get an iced tea and a meal, the aforementioned noodle soup. I gotta say the strangest thing about this experience is the cinch-sack clipped onto by bag, it jostles with every movement I make, causing my center of gravity to constantly wobble.

As the day wears on I find myself beginning to waver in my resolve. I think about all the work I have to do and how much I don’t want to have to do it all in Olin. I miss the privacy of my room. I’m worried about how I’m going to pull off Yom Kippur. The day is hot and long. This is only the beginning.

My list of regrets is long and topped with my decision to sacrifice sleep and sanity for this venture. Although I haven’t suffered much at this point I know that the worst is only ahead of me. My mind’s tellin’ me no, but my body, my body’s tellin’ me also no. But for better or worse I’m still in.

Katy: I woke up at 6:30 a.m. discouraged. When choosing my bed for the night, I went for the room that had a full sized couch, the Newman Exploration Center (basement level under Whispers). Little did I know that it would be the brightest room and I would hear every single movement happening in Whispers. When approaching my bed I sprinted past Ella to get the one couch that had a pillow (#blessed), and relegated Ella to the pillowless couch. We became allies for the night, and I tried to get some shut eye. When I woke up, Ella had departed, I had gotten one hour of sleep, and things were rough.

I don’t know what happened to her, but I know I had a terrible time trying to sleep in the Newman Exploration Center, so no judgement from me.

I then proceeded to bike home to drive to a dentist appointment which was much worse than I thought it would be. My face was completely numb but also aching, I was drooling, and it felt like a great time to quit. My resolve faltered, but stopping at Raising Cane’s really brought me back for a second, until I dribbled sweet tea over myself.

Classes came and went, I held a piece of paper over my face to block the light, I went to a Phi Lambda Psi meeting that was DOPE, then I faced my next challenge; showering. It’s a hot one this week. My clothes can tell, my nose can tell. Showering had to happen. But low-and-behold, it was a wonderful experience at Sumers Recreation Center! They have their own little dispensers of body wash, I got a towel from the equipment desk, things were good. The lack of shower shoes drew some eyes, but we move on. Squeaky clean Katy is ready for another night! This time will be better for sure. My deepest want at this moment would have to be light switch.