The Facts Behind Fear –
Campers in The Facts Behind Fear are examining the science and psychology behind fear. Today they investigated how governments instill fear in people. They talked about the use of propaganda, fake news, and dehumanization, among other tactics.
Then the fun began! The students were randomly assigned to teams to play a non-violent version of The Hunger Games. Each student started the game with the same number of supply points and health points. They were presented with situations where they had to make a choice, then flipped a coin or rolled the dice to see the outcome. They had to decide whether or not to try to get supplies from the cornucopia, to climb a tree to escape a fire, fight wolves, and attack or ally with other teams. In each scenario, they could lose or gain supply points or health points. They might also pick up weapons.
Heidi and Aerin both died at the first trial. In the beginning the teams were pretty good at working together. One of Brylan’s teammates gave him a health point to keep him alive. It was much friendlier than the real hunger games, as long as things went well, they stuck together. Even after they “died”, they let their teammates loot their bodies for weapons and supplies.