The Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) brought its own version of "Fear Factor" to Tufts on Friday. On the academic quad, 11 contestants competed in three different tasks to try to win $100.
Junior Ed Warren, who was in charge of the event, said that the event was prompted by the TCF's desire for a different activity that would promote campus bonding.
"TCF tries to positively contribute to the campus," Warren said.
The 11 contestants first had to bob for chicken feet in a fish tank full of milk, tomato paste, scrambled eggs, garbanzo beans, pickles and other materials. There were 30 chicken feet in the tank, and contestants were timed until they managed to remove three. The people with the five slowest times were eliminated.
Sophomore Adam Santos, who was one of the five eliminated, thought his brief participation was worthwhile. "It was gross, but it was fun," he said.
For the second part of the competition, the six remaining contestants climbed a 40-foot rope. The winning time for this contest was 14 seconds.
The contestants with the top three times from that event went on to the final round, entitled "the Gauntlet."
There was plastic sheeting on the ground, and cardboard boxes were set up as both obstacles and places to hide.
"There were tennis balls behind each of the boxes, and you had to pick them up and put them in a bin," Santos said.
While they attempted to do this, Warren shot them with a paintball gun. Every time they got hit, 10 seconds were added to their time.
Dave Shepard had the fastest time in the final round and was declared the winner.
"It was a complicated thing to run," Warren said of the event. "We had a couple glitches here and there."
Still, he was happy with the way the event turned out and the crowd that gathered.
"A lot of people showed up to watch," he said.
Despite what they were put through, many of the contestants had a good time as well. "I enjoyed it," Santos said. "It was a lot of fun."
TCF will look into repeating the activity next year. "The hardest part was to get approval [from the administration]," Warren said. Since they succeeded in that this year, he hopes it might be easier next year.
"I'd love to see it happen again," he said.
