We want to start off by congratulating the winners of the Hunt for the Golden Condom, and by acknowledging the amount of planning that went into the hunt itself. Disclaimer: while it was Jim Hoppe this year, these issues could occur if the location of the golden condom was in “anyone’s” pocket (i.e a history professor, Bri Ro, a security guard or chef Troy).

With that said, we have some serious issues regarding this year’s hunt. We have four main points we wish to address.

The first is that it was in Jim Hoppe’s pocket. His pocket. Not his office, not a building on campus, but on his person. How is it fair to have a moving target in a scavenger hunt? Most students have class throughout the day and search for the condom at night, when Jim Hoppe is no longer on campus. The condom should not be allowed to leave campus. Second, we are sure Jim is in and out of meetings all day, and if students have only a few minutes to try and get the condom, having the location be on a person is not fair to anyone. Third, the fact that it was in his pocket is awkward. It’s not his coat or his shoe, but his pocket. If you are certain the golden condom is in there, is it acceptable to reach in and get it? This brings us to our next issue; the relationship to Jim Hoppe (or whoever it is on) is critical.

Personally, we would not have felt comfortable asking Jim Hoppe if he has the Golden Condom. Especially if he wasn’t alone and if we weren’t sure we were right. We know that Jim Hoppe is a great person, but he is still a disciplinarian, and some of us have no relationship with him. Some people may have had only limited interactions with him (academic probation, leaves of absence) and would be uncomfortable with him after this conversation. This applies to it being on any person on campus, not just Jim.

Finally, the clues this year were way too ambiguous. We feel that they should be explained at the end of the hunt (we’ve felt this in the past as well). The condom wasn’t found until the clue basically said “ask someone.” When the clues are directing you to a person you may not know, it is just unfair. Also, the clues have not been the same among the table tents, the Piper and the Facebook page (this was a problem last year as well). Yes, now knowing the location some of the clues made sense, but others did not. This is why we would like an explanation.

Again, thanks to Jim Hoppe for participating, congrats to the people who won and thank you to Health and Wellness for putting on the hunt. These are just issues we feel need to be addressed before the next year.