Reality Check

Students will want to get a good night’s rest the night of Sept. 24.

As part of the College’s Jesuit Heritage Week, “Jesuit Amazing Race” will test students’ knowledge of Jesuit history. The game is inspired by scavenger hunts and the popular TV show "The Amazing Race." The CBS hit show has won the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program award at the Emmy’s for five consecutive years.

On Sept. 25 at 10 a.m., the first clue will be e-mailed to all Holy Cross students, explains Jonathan Mulrooney, assistant professor of English. Any student who chooses can try to solve the clue, which will lead them to a specific location on campus where they will find another clue, and so on until the final location.

Students may work individually or in teams of up to four. The deadline for the competition is Sept. 26 at 4 p.m.

“Presumably the winners will finish somewhere on the earlier side of that time frame,” he says.

Mulrooney declines to divulge how many clues there will be, but says “the number is greater than seven and less than 13.”

The tight-lipped professor refused to answer our other questions.

Where will the program take place? “At various — as yet undisclosed — locations all around campus.”

Any clues or tips that you’d like to give to help students? “The clues will come in the form of simple riddles, and a knowledge of some of the less noticeable features of our campus will play an important role in solving these riddles.”

Gee, thanks.

Students will have a worksheet they will have to turn in at the end of the race to ensure they’ve visited each of the locations, he says.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers: First place $250, second place $125, third place $75. The fourth place finisher will receive dinner at Ciampi.

“We thought it would be a fun way to help students learn about Jesuit heritage — their heritage as Holy Cross students — and encourage them to encounter some of the real people and ideas that shaped the institution,” he says.