Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Two weeks ago, the Swarthmore Treasure Hunters’ Society sent Swatties sniffing for clues all over campus. Though insisting they remain shrouded in mystery, a few members of this society (Tom, Dick, and Harry) sat down with yours truly to answer questions for the Daily Gazette. Names, of course, have been changed to protect their super-secret identities.
Daily Gazette: What exactly is the STHS?
Tom: It’s the Swarthmore Treasure Hunters’ Society.
Dick: I guess it could be the Swarthmore Treasure Hiders’ Society too.
DG: What do you do?
Harry: We bring adventure, mystery, and fun into the daily lives of Swat students by designing and setting up treasure hunts that span the campus!
Tom: Kind of inspired by fictitious works such as the Lord of the Rings and The Da Vinci Code.
Dick: Or Harry Potter…wait. Actually it’s nothing like Harry Potter, but I like Harry Potter anyway.
DG: Well, it’s sort of like the horcruxes.
Harry: Horcruxes will be a crucial part of the next treasure hunt!
Tom: I plan to hide my soul all over campus.
DG: Why all the secrecy?
Tom: It’s more fun that way. No paparazzi issues.
Harry: It would be no fun if everyone knew who the organizers were. The messages are supposed to appear like magic! Plus, people would bug us for hints on the clues.
DG: What did the first treasure hunt entail?
Tom: We started with posters all around campus with a riddle on them. The other clues led to places all over campus.
DG: Where?
Tom: There were three clues. The first led to the piano in the Parrish Parlors. The second led to the Underhill library, where there was a clue chalked onto a wall. The final clue led to a book in McCabe, where the treasure hunter would find a map to the prize.
DG: What was the prize?
Dick: Well, here’s the deal. Soon after we put the clues into place, people were already on the second clue. We got really worried because we didn’t have the prizes in place yet.
Harry: So we ran down to the Co-Op (we had always planned that the prize would be some type of food), met some Girl Scouts and, figuring that Girl Scouts’ cookies are a very delicious prize, we bought some.
DG: Where were they hidden?
Tom: We won’t say. It’s a secret.
DG: Have they been found?
Harry: Yes.
DG: Do you have a plans for another hunt?
Tom: Next hunt we plan to have bigger and better prizes, especially if we get funding from SBC.
Dick: We want to get funding from the FUN FUNd.
DG: When do you plan to have your next hunt? Is it going to happen regularly?
Tom: We are planning on a Spec-oriented hunt for Ride the Tide, but it’s pretty much on a “whenever we feel like it” basis.
DG: Anything else you’d like to add?
Harry: Well I’d just like to say that we are very surprised at how quickly Swatties solved the clues, so future puzzles will be harder.
DG: Excellent. Now for the most important question: boxers or briefs?
Harry: *rolls eyes*
