Gunn’s annual Elimination game is underway, sending the campus into a frenzy of animal plushies and avid strategic planning.

Dating back to the first game in 2017, the SEC-hosted tradition continues to brew excitement and light-hearted competition among students. Each year, hundreds of participants register through the student-created game website and receive a target. The goal is to tag that student with a plush toy to eliminate them, enter their code into the site and climb up the rankings.

Student Body Secretary junior Esther Li describes Elimination as a friendly atmosphere that brings out everyone’s inner child.

“The fact (is) that your target can be anywhere in this school,” she said. “It could be someone you know or may not know (which) makes the process of trying to eliminate them a fun way to get to know new people and build connections.”

From holding a plushie in a specific hand to wearing wigs, the game has daily rules that protect players from being tagged. Participants must simultaneously hunt their targets and adhere to these constraints to stay alive in the game.

For many students, like freshman Ellie Fidanboylu, Elimination is the social highlight of the year. As the competition stakes intensify throughout the weeks, shared memories and new connections are made along the way.

“It’ll be a fun activity to do with my friends,” she said. “There will be something new every single day that gives everyone something to look forward to.”

The Student Executive Council will host the annual Love Week on the quad, where students can celebrate on-campus connections from Feb.
10 to Feb. 12.

On the first day, students who completed the Match-o-Matics survey distributed through Schoology, will receive their results revealing
their most and least compatible matches across
all grades.

Sophomore Naomi Weiner, who participated last year, enjoyed the sense of community and opportunity to bond.

“I think (SEC) fosters a great sense of community from Match-o-Matics, especially because you can find people that you bond with or are similar to you without actually ever meeting them before, and you get to meet new people that way,” she said.

The following day, students can make bracelets together before the week culminates in a symbolic “marriage” under an arch with fake rings and flowers. The Love Ceremony is the most popular event of the week, according to Student Activities Director Lisa Hall.

“People all gather together, and it’s nice because significant others and friends can get married under the arch,” she said.

Special Events Commissioner junior LeeAh Ji said the organizing team is changing the Match-o-Matics algorithm to fix previous years’ flaws.

“Some people got the same person in their sheets (as other people), so we’re hoping to create a better system that’s more varied,” she said.

Students started the second semester with a refurbished Spangenberg Theater, complete with new rigging systems, trusses for stage lights,
updates to the control booth, electrical upgrades and a new fire curtain.

The renovations prioritized lighting upgrades to bolster the audience experience, introducing color-changing LEDs and moving fixtures with
remote pan, tilt and zoom control, according to PAUSD Supervisor of Theatre Production and Facility Rental Kyle Langdon.

“The theater is much more evenly lit when you walk in,” he said. “These improvements benefit all performers, designers and attendees for events at Spangenberg Theater.”

While the equipment improves production capabilities for Gunn’s performing arts programs, the primary driver behind the construction was safety and compliance, according to Assistant Principal of Facilities Dr. Mycal Hixon in a press conference with The Oracle on Jan. 21.

“(We had to) make sure we were up to fire code with the fire marshal,” he said. “California changes things on a consistent basis to make sure that things are sustainable.”

During the construction period, Gunn’s performances, including instrumental music concerts, the staff-choir musical and theater productions, were relocated, primarily to Paly’s Performing Arts Center.

“It is a lot of work to take a show on the road, and everyone involved did a great job to help those changes run smoothly,” Langdon said. There are no current plans for further major construction. Performances have since resumed.