In 2023, when discussing his plan to dismantle New College’s Gender Studies program, Florida Republican Gov. Ron Desantis stated that “we don’t want students to go through, at taxpayer expense, and graduate with a degree in zombie studies.” Now, Zombie Gender Studies will be crawling out of the dumpsters they were thrown into and exacting revenge on the night of May 17 for New College’s 2025 graduation apocalypse-themed Center of the Universe Party (COUP). COUP, a New College tradition that occurs three times a year, brings students together for a campus-wide themed party, with hosts voted on by the student body. This grad COUP’s hosts are first-year Axel Anderson, thesis student and Old School Catalyst staff writer Andy Trinh and thesis student Beaux Delaune.
“If anyone feels alone or isolated, COUP is one of those nights where you can just come out, meet new people and make lifelong friends over the span of like three or four hours,” Anderson said in an interview.
Anderson and Delaune commented on how New College has changed so vastly in the past two years. They said this COUP is a tribute to the students left behind, who will be graduating from an entirely different New College.
“It can feel like once you’re connected to a place for so long, and when you leave, you’re leaving everything,” Anderson said. “New College has changed. It feels like the end of this tiny little world that you’ve come to know.”
“I thought it was an appropriate theme to give people catharsis,” Delaune told Old School Catalyst. “I feel like there’s been this dehumanization that’s been going on with politics, like with trans people or immigrants in general. And reclaiming that dehumanization, to make something of it, has been important for myself not letting it get to me.”
Delaune emphasized the loss of New College culture and student access to information with stricter policies on windows and flyers. “I’ve watched the buildings turn from pink to white, and the presence of students disappear from campus, like through posters,” Delaune continued “And to me, that’s apocalyptic. I’m trying to express in the theme that if all of this is going to be taken away, we might as well reclaim it and take it away ourselves.”
LoCOUPtions
The looming banyan and grit of the Nook will be transformed into the zombie apocalypse. There will be red lamp lights and industrial lights over tombstones. Chicken wire and fencing will enclose the space. The space will host DJ sets by students who sign up prior to COUP and live music by second-year Callie Flemming from 11 p.m. to 12 midnight.
Palm Court will represent the Rapture. The Rapture is a Christian eschatological belief that living and dead believers will be taken into the air to meet Jesus Christ. It is a sudden event where people are transported out of their clothes and “raptured” to Heaven. Palm Court will be adorned with white sheets and white lights. Abandoned clothing will be strewn around the palm trees, which will be decorated with crosses. There will be student DJ sets throughout the night.
“I’m thinking Protestant church in the 1970s,” Anderson told Old School Catalyst. “Bright and shiny, evil Evangelion.”
Set in a post-apocalyptic future, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Japanese anime series about a teenage boy named Shinji Ikari, who is recruited to fight monsters called Angels by piloting a giant robot called Evangelion.
The Old Mail Room (OMR) will represent the Y2K scare. Also known as the millennium bug, the Y2K scare began in the 1960s when new computer programs were being written. Scientists and engineers used two digits for the year, such as ‘90’ for ‘1990.’ As December 31, 1999, became January 1, 2000, the public feared computers would interpret the millennium change as December 31, 1999 turning into January 1, 1900. It was believed that this would impact financial loan rates, which are calculated daily, and computers would calculate rates based on 100 years prior. There were concerns that water plants and public transportation would potentially shut down as well due to the wrong date. Ultimately, nothing happened, and software engineers changed programs to allow for four-digit years.
The OMR will have a New Year’s theme. Inspiration can be drawn from the recently released film Y2K, starring Rachel Ziegler and Jaeden Martell. The film portrays the Y2K scare at a high school New Year’s Eve party when robots take over after the power shuts down. Decor at the OMR will include ripped-apart keyboards and hanging wires. The color palette will be pink and blue to contrast the black, yellow and green in the other locations.
Z-green, the grassy area outside Hamilton “Ham” Center, will be “the Camp.” There will be boxes of Twinkies and granola bars and a bedsheet for wall art .
Z-amp will represent the nuclear apocalypse. The “lead dome” is inspired by the lead dome over the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant in present-day Ukraine. There will be cardboard spikes and a large gladiator dome to recreate the feeling of the concentration of trapped nuclear radiation. The spikes will be representative of nuclear storage sites, along with caution danger signs. There will be live music by local bands. Cherish This, a Floridian emo/midwest band will be playing from 10 p.m.-11 p.m. MyDeadRoomate, a thrash/rock band, will be playing from 11 p.m.-12 a.m. Spanish Bombs, a skater punk band, will be playing from midnight to 1 a.m.
Trinh hopes this COUP will help to bridge the gap between the Sarasota music scene and New College. “I think live music is so New College, and we need to start having more live music again,” Trinh said. “There are so many interesting connections that happen when you’re always inviting art to be on campus.”
A seasoned veteran host of three successful COUPs, Trinh knows how to rock a party. He advises the importance of underclassmen keeping alive the traditions of past hosts, and he has created a guide to hosting COUP that can be found here. Delaune also advises weekly meetings with co-hosts to ensure all participants have a clear direction for the party.
“Also keep up a good relationship with the departments that you’re working with,” Delaune said. “Student Activities and Campus Engagement (SA[u]CE) and Housing have the power to take this away from us or have the power to limit it so it’s not fun anymore. And so sometimes working in a compromise is the smartest move.”
“It’s going to be dark,” Anderson said. “It’s going to be dingy, it’s going to be evil-type stuff. We’re going to have punk bands playing all throughout the night because it’s evil.”
COUPstumes
It is the end of the world as one knows it and Chanel just will not do. For a simple zombie look, try cutting up an old shirt, rolling it in dirt and splattering red paint or melted lipstick on it. Accessories could include goggles, masks, gritty makeup and/or leather gloves.
“I’m gonna make gloves and a utility bag that’s supposed to hang on my legs because I’m going for a scrapper vibe,” Delaune said. “After a nuclear fallout, I’ll be someone who goes up to the surface and raids cities or scraps for parts. I want to do something that’s really techy looking and industrial. I’m gonna rip up a tank top and shorts with big combat boots and a bunch of side bags that kind of look like holsters.”
There is no shortage of apocalyptic pop culture characters from which to draw inspiration. To dress like Ellie from the apocalyptic video game and TV series, The Last of Us, one could wear a brown t-shirt or tank top, with either a grey long-sleeve under or a short-sleeve grey button-up over, along with blue or black jeans and sneakers. Accessories are a backpack, a ponytail or half-up, half-down for those with long hair and a Sharpie recreation of the tattoo on her arm.
For the girl on fire or Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, an all-black, tight outfit with boots would recreate her look from the second movie in the dystopian saga. Accessories include a plastic bow and arrow, which can be purchased at Walmart, a side braid and a mockingjay pin that can be drawn on paper or cardboard.
“’I’m gonna buy a yellow jumpsuit and then spray paint it or like vinyl print some sort of nuclear sign on the back,” Trinh said. “Then I can just reuse that whenever.”
The 2009 saga Zombieland, featuring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenburg, centers on survivors of a virus that turns people into zombies making their way to a safe haven in Los Angeles. Harrelson’s character, Tallahassee, wears blue jeans, a black leather jacket, a straw cowboy hat, brown boots, a purple t-shirt and has a bow and arrow at the ready.
“It’s a cool event and people end up really liking being at the school because of COUP,” Delaune said. “It’s a way for people to de-stress, relax and have fun because the academic rigor is so intense here.”
