Every year for a couple of days, students come across plastic bags scattered around campus. Inside the bags are clips of paper with different commodities. These bags are part of a game that the freshmen play in their Foundations of Civilization class.
The game is a simple reenactment of the world-wide commercial revolution of the 16th to 18th centuries. Places around campus represent different trading locations, and the paper slip commodities are turned in for “bills of exchange.” The “bills of exchange” represent gold, and the ultimate goal of the game is to collect more money than the other teams. Other Webbies can expect to see freshman classes waving around paper slips and running across campus.
James Huerta, a Foundations of Civilization teacher, said, “They are learning about the triangular trade. There are different points throughout campus that represent a different port with different commodities. Every [Foundations of Civilization] class is playing right now.”
Katie Arzate (‘23), part of a winning team in her block of Foundations of Civilization, said, “It was really fun and my team won. We tried to collect the most stuff as possible in the time we had. We tried to find the most expensive stuff. We ran quickly and collected a lot of things. I wish we could play this game again.”
Next time you see the plastic bags around campus, appreciate how the freshmen are learning and please do not mess with them.
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