It is RHA's goal to create programs to bring all 12 residence halls of CSU together to participate in programs. The Amazing Race was a perfect example of this, allowing us to advertise in all residence halls, encourage teams from each hall, and create a broad race spanning all of the residence halls on campus. The Amazing Race allowed us to bring a well-known TV show with fun games and a message of teamwork and community to involve students on a Saturday afternoon.

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The Amazing Race consisted of teams of up to five residents from every residence hall. Teams were given a certain starting clue that corresponded to a particular residence hall location on campus. Once arriving at the location, they were required to perform a task or game in order to receive a clue to the next location. This pattern continued until there were seven locations total reached. After seven locations were reached, they returned to the starting location, and the team with the fastest time would be declared the winner. The race course spanned across all twelve residence halls, and allowed students the chance to traverse campus and find their way to each residence hall, including new ones they may not have visited before. The clues were not too hard to discern, and consisted of familiar residence hall landmarks; such as the trademark sandwich area RamWich in a particular residence hall. Teams were not allowed to use bikes, and had to remain together. All clues had to be presented towards the end to ensure all locations were reached in accordance with the fast time. Teams were encouraged to practice sportsmanlike conduct, and to allow a team ahead of them to finish the activity if locations overlapped between two teams. The organization of the clues allowed for minimal overlapping, and overall, the race was relatively short. The teams were able to finish the race in under an hour and fifteen minutes.

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The program encouraged knowledge of residence halls, and allowed residents to take pride in the large scale campus they inhabit. The program's larger goal allowed students from every residence hall to turn out, and thus, the program was not limited to one specific residence hall. Very often we find our North Side and South Side residence halls divided at events due to distance between the two, and this program allowed a common ground to be created and both sides were united in a common goal to complete the race. The program also encouraged event participation. As the program was on a Saturday, students were encouraged to get out and get involved in something on campus, with The Amazing Race being the sole residence hall marketed event that day. The program also allowed students to take pride in their residence halls, with friendly competition coming from teams tied to specific residence halls. However, the larger concept of community came out as well, as we did see some mixed residence hall teams present.

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The positive effects of the program are the community built, and the knowledge that there are many ways to bring the opposite sides of the campus together. Uniting these two sides in program participation is an important goal, and The Amazing Race was an integral part of this process. The community created between the teams also is a lasting effect, as many teams stated they had fun and it was a unique program that they enjoyed. The level of enjoyment was also a positive effect as well. While the prizes handed out weren't anything fancy, the teams who did not receive any prizes said they cared more for the experience than the reward itself. When speaking to these individuals, they stated how it was very fun, and allowed them something resourceful and entertaining to do on a Saturday afternoon.

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Overall, the program was a success. For our first year of putting the program on, the turnout was successful, and there was heavy resident involvement. Due to the success and positive response from residents, it is heavily likely that it will be repeated again, with minor revisions made by the lessons learned in this pilot trial. The program allowed resourcefulness and involvement on campus, as well as knowledge of campus and teamwork. The program aided in accomplishing RHA's goals of an on-campus community, and furthered our goal to unite the opposite sides of campus. Some things we would change are more defined rules, as well as ensuring the monitors of the games are on the same page and familiar with the program. Advertising more heavily would also be done to allow for students to get involved, and creating a longer, more involved race was requested from residents as well.

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This program could easily be adapted to campus simply by creating clues pertaining to particular locations and incorporating fun games and activities at these locations. As this program encourages campus familiarity and involvement, any resident is able to participate and learn from their teammates, and the teamwork alone is a fantastic principle to bring out from the program. Campuses could encourage all students to participate and not just limit it to the residence halls. Each campus has its own unique location and atmospheres, and may be able to perform certain games that are more feasible that others. In this, each campus would have its own unique race worthy of participation from students, and ultimately creating a race similar to the actual TV show.

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