As we enter the second half of the semester, most first-years are getting settled into the rhythm of college life. Some first-years, however, still have not yet set foot on campus as enrolled students. While most Scrambles found their way back to campus prior to classes, one group of students remains in the Wallowas, struggling to survive. This Scramble, set to return in late December, will make up the 2013 Jan-start class.

In a new program to promote the selectivity of the college, the Office of Admissions coordinated with the OP to send 50 young adults into the wilderness for a semester without proper training or a Scramble leader.

Devin Kyerly said of the new program, “The basic idea is that the students who make it back to campus will have to be students who exemplify the outdoorsy culture Whitman prides itself on.”

When asked if he anticipated all 50 to make it back, Kyerly chuckled and recalled that several of the potential students showed up in sneakers and few had warm clothes in anticipation for winter. He then pointed to Harvard’s six percent acceptance rate as a goal.

The 50 students on the trip were selected through a lottery system to each represent a state, promoting geographic diversity. Some states’ representatives are more fit for the challenge than others, including several potential students with outdoor experience who volunteered for the challenge.

While reports tell us that all 50 are still alive, the reality of the situation is beginning to set in for the Scramblers. Food supplies are dwindling and soon the Scramblers’ only hopes will rest upon their survival skills or their state’s willingness to send care packages. Many of the representatives have formed alliances to increase their chances of survival. The Bible Belt has banded together and, with the help of a trident found lying in the pathways, has established itself as a force not to be reckoned with.

The Whitman Office of Admissions already has a betting pool on which students will come out on top, and some people are wagering entire paychecks.

“Let’s just say that if the Appalachian region outlasts the West Coast, I will be excited by more than the geographic diversity offered by the incoming class,” said Cony Tabasco.

Other representatives with highly anticipated survival include Ohio’s 6’9″ basketball player who already has a starting spot waiting for him if he makes it, and Washington’s Katniss Evergreen who, despite utter incompetence, has received enormous support seemingly for her name alone.

In the coming months, the Scramble is expected to take on a more competitive atmosphere, with foul play not entirely ruled out. While the young adults struggle against the elements, each other and the competitiveness of admission to a selective liberal arts college, we can only hope that the odds are ever in their favor.