Students will be able to channel their inner Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in Sonoma State University’s first ever, Hunger Games. In order to raise awareness about National Hunger and Homelessness Week, students all over campus are encouraged to compete in the Hunger Games put on by Join Us Making Progress on Nov. 21.

Throughout the week of Nov. 17 to Nov. 21 teams, created by the students, will participate by being engaged in different volunteer opportunities or educational speakers. 

The more events the teams go to, the more points they will receive.  The top 12 teams with the most points at the end of the week will be able to volunteer two members from their team to be tributes to compete in the final Hunger Games competition.

Max Vicas, a junior looking to compete in the Hunger Games, told the STAR, “I am looking forward to doing community service events that lead up to a physical competition, and it would be a great way to bring together a group of people dedicated to helping the community.”

There will also be a canned food drive during the National Hunger and Homelessness Week.  Teams who donate cans will receive bonus points added onto the points they received by attending service events and speakers throughout the week. 

There will be an actual reaping, just like in the movie, on Nov. 20 in the Student Center ballrooms. In the movie the reaping is an annual event that takes place in every district before each Hunger Games, where the tributes of the upcoming games are chosen.  All students are welcome to come watch SSU’s reaping, as two members of the top 12 teams will be summoned to compete in a range of physical games and activities.

At the first Info Night on Tuesday, Kagemuro Jeremiah, director of human services for JUMP said, “Although this it is called the Hunger Games, no one is going to die.”

However, the physical events at the games will not be announced till the day of.  All students are encouraged to go and support the tributes from the teams.

The point of this event is to get the entire campus involved.  This event is a competitive way to engage students in service and community action and to raise awareness about an issue in the area. 

The speakers and volunteer opportunities are not just for those competing in the Hunger Games.  All students are welcome to participate and gain knowledge about this issue.

“We’re really excited to see the Sonoma State community come together to fight the issue of hunger and homelessness in Sonoma County,” said Becca O’Neil, director of youth programs. “Plus, it is going to be in a fun and energizing way.”

Clubs and organizations at Sonoma State University are highly encouraged to have one or more teams.  Individuals who are not affiliated with anything on campus are also welcome to create teams.

The first step of the process is to create a team; teams can be as small as two people and as big as 20.   Each team selects a captain who can register the whole team for the games. The deadline to sign up is Nov. 7 and the list of members in each team is due by Nov. 13.  To sign up go to the JUMP offices in the second floor of the Student Center.

Since this is the first time Sonoma State is doing an event like the Hunger Games to get the word out about National Hunger and Homelessness week, JUMP will be advertising about it around campus. Look for posters, emails  and JUMP’s Facebook page for more information leading up to the event.