If you love the gripping, emotional journey that is 'Survivor,' but can't relate to the characters and challenges that take place in such faraway locales as the Cook Islands (never heard of 'em!), UD Survivor is for you.

A group of 16 UD students spent the weekend of Sept. 27-29 participating in a Survivor-esque game that mimicked the real show, complete with confessionals and a cash prize for the winner. Flyer TV documented the event and is in the works creating episodes of the Survivor experience that will air on Flyer TV sometime next semester.

Travis Rindler, a fifth-year senior sociology major and longtime fan of the TV show that inspired the game, organized this year's UD Survivor.

'It is fascinating for me to see how people interact with each other.' Rindler said. 'The game of 'Survivor' pushed people to interact with people of different ages, races, ethnicities, beliefs and preferences, and then make a competition out of it.'

He planned much of UD Survivor with co-host Patrick Strauss while in Africa this past summer.

The event took place at Rindler's property and two other properties in Huber Heights, Ohio, about 20 minutes north of Dayton. Contestants camped outside for the entire weekend, which wasn't pleasant for some, due to the rainy weather, but doable nonetheless. The format of UD Survivor is almost exactly like the real show, so expect all of the drama and exhilaration that comes with tribal councils and challenges.

Fifth-year Budd Nerone participated in the weekend he called 'one of my best weekends since I've been here,' and is eager to participate again.

'The people were definitely the best part of the weekend,' said Nerone. 'I got along with some of them and some of them I didn't really' but they were all such dynamic figures and it was really interesting to see how people's personalities adapted to the situations we were in.'

Another participant in the event, fifth-year Eric Eble, didn't want too many details leaked, due to the fact that the show will air next semester and they want to keep the element of surprise. When asked who the winner was he warned, 'It's a big secret!' So you will have to tune into the show to find out who wins the $100 dollar prize!

Rindler has high hopes to continue the 'Survivor' tradition with a club on campus sometime in the near future. He is also looking into the possibility of a game of UD Survivor next semester that would include campus-wide sign ups. If you are interested in participating in this 'game of all games for anyone who likes' games,' as Rindler called it, you can contact him at rindletp@notes.udayton.edu.

Be sure to keep your eye out for the 8-10 episodes that will be airing on Flyer TV starting next semester. Many details can't be revealed, but several participants have guaranteed that UD Survivor will be more addicting, and perhaps even more exciting, than the actual TV show. Tune in to watch your peers compete and judge for yourself how UD Survivor compares with the real thing.