It was 4:30 on Wednesday afternoon and the members of the Zombie Defense League (ZDL) were off. The sound of their footsteps and Nerf guns could be heard throughout the school as they played a variety of games.
Shawn Beatty, the Japanese teacher at Hickman, has been the sponsor for the ZDL for 10 years.
“When I started here, my first year in 2012, I said, this is a good club, and I said, who’s in charge? I want it. So I took over at Rockbridge and then I started one here,” Beatty said.
His love for the game is shared by many students across all three CPS schools with at least 15 members in each club who meet almost every week.
Miles Pratte (10) and Joseph Meketsy (10) are ZDL’s co-presidents and are the ones who run the meetings.
“It starts with us going over what game mode to play for the day before heading to our normal location to group into teams before we play,” Joseph said.
The designated area for ZDL to play is in the social studies/English hallway upstairs.
Although the darts they use are soft, they make sure to avoid shooting students, staff, and custodians with their Nerf guns during the game. Other rules include no headshots and listening to refs.
Beatty wants the club to continue to grow in hopes of allowing kids to enjoy something they loved as a child.
“I think the club will continue to grow as the years go on, like I’ve said before, the club is a great way for students to experience one of the best things from their childhood before adulthood,” Joseph said.
The members of the ZDL remember playing with Nerf guns as kids and want to remember that kind of joy from their youth as they transition to adulthood, and the Zombie Defense League allows them to do that.