Solution to Student Center
This puzzle is the supermeta for the Students round, which consists of 54 student puzzles that are unlocked by finding them around campus. These puzzles feed into dorm metas, one for each of the 10 undergraduate dorms. There is additionally a metameta for the 7 dorms on Dorm Row (in particular, only the Dorm Row, East Campus, Random Hall, and Simmons Hall metas have answers that describe how to fix their respective problems).
Each of the meta answers solves a specific problem associated with its building(s) which is associated with one of air, fire, earth, or water (this is also depicted in the art for that submeta/subround). To solve their problem, they get help from one of the other three sub-rounds. Specifically:
- Air: The air conditioning in the Dorm Row buildings is currently broken so the rooms are too cold. The solution is to CALL EC’S DRAGONS to warm things up.
- Fire: East Campus’s fire pit is currently running low on fuel. Use Random’s RANDOM LUMBER GENERATOR to get some more.
- Earth: Random is currently full of dirt. They should DISTRIBUTE SPONGES from Simmons to clean things up.
- Water: Simmons is flooded! Use A ROW BLOW from Dorm Row to remove the excess water.
Each of the students are named, and when you solve their corresponding puzzle, you learn which clubs they belong to. This information has not been used anywhere else so far.
| Answer | Name | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| HOSPITAL BENEFITS | Jingyi | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Math Association, Start-a-Club Club, The Club for Unique People, The Consortium |
| DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT | Justine | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium |
| ENTROPY | Jonathan | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, The Consortium |
| TASTINESS | Anderson | Airplane Enthusiasts, Math Association, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People, Xbox Gamers |
| LATE ONSET | Benjamin | Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium |
| BOAT RIDE | Hamilton | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium |
| LA DODGERS | Maximilian | Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew |
| ELLEN TEBBITS | Damien | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Club for Unique People |
| GIANT GROWTH | Kathleen | Airplane Enthusiasts, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People |
| COSMOPOLITAN | Charles | Rock and Roll Band, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium, The Geographers |
| POUND STERLING | Theodore | Start-a-Club Club, The Consortium |
| BUDAPEST | Evan | Rock and Roll Band, The Club for Unique People |
| FUNNEL | Crystal | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People, The Consortium |
| RED DIESEL | Sridhar | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club |
| MARCO REUS | Nathaniel | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Singles Club, The Consortium |
| MILO READY-TO-DRINK | Clarence | Amateur Rock and Roll Band |
| ANIME | Marjorie | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen |
| THE XX | Yannick | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Consortium, The Geographers |
| DOCTOR STRANGE | Kat | Rock and Roll Band, The Club for Unique People |
| ATE DINNER | Eleanor | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, The Consortium |
| DEFY | Toomas | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People |
| LULLABY | Abigail | Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People, Xbox Gamers |
| PRODUCT TESTING | Jenna | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People |
| SOLVABLE | Florence | Airplane Enthusiasts, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People, Xbox Gamers |
| CHASKA | Lillian | Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium |
| SEA BREAM | Brian | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Start-a-Club Club |
| DISTINCT FEATURES | Joanna | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Consortium |
| STOWING | Curtis | Math Association, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Xbox Gamers |
| ERASURE | Sebastian | Rock and Roll Band, Statesmen |
| TINFOIL | Mitchell | Airplane Enthusiasts, Math Association, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew |
| BITE MARK | Christine | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium |
| PAISLEY | Maddie | Airplane Enthusiasts, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, The Club for Unique People |
| FAX | Lawrence | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Club for Unique People, The Consortium, The Geographers |
| FANG | Robert | Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People |
| GOOD FAT | Clementine | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium |
| WHY ME | Elizabeth | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium |
| ANGLE BRACKETS | Daniel | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, The Club for Unique People |
| NAPOLEON | Francisco | Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium, The Geographers |
| THE GOGOS | Connor | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Geographers |
| FUEGO | Cami | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen |
| BASIC | Zachary | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People |
| HAM IT UP | Wilhelmina | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen |
| SOLE MEUNIERE | Leon | Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People |
| WHITE | Frederick | Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium |
| END LOADED | Alexander | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium, The Geographers |
| ARCHIVED EDITIONS | Josephine | Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium |
| DARN IT ALL | Lennart | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Consortium |
| DRESS CODE | Nicholas | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, The Consortium |
| SALTON SEA | Chris | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Math Association, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew |
| GATHERER CHILDREN | Mackenzie | Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium, The Geographers |
| HABITUAL | Patrick | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People |
| UNDOING | Joshua | Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew |
| NET LOSSES | Xander | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, The Club for Unique People, The Consortium |
| CALANTHE | Charlotte | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium, The Geographers |
The flavortext mentions a student sitting at a “strangely shaped table,” and the problems / solutions to the four dorm metas involved the four classical elements. These two facts should make us think of using the periodic table of elements to proceed.
It turns out that we can associate each student with a particular element with atomic number between 1 and 54 inclusive. The clubs that a student belongs to represent various properties of the elements. For example, the Honor Society consists of all the noble gases. As further confirmation, the length of each student’s name matches the length of their corresponding element.
| Club | Property |
|---|---|
| Airplane Enthusiasts | Gases |
| Amateur Rock and Roll Band | Metalloids |
| Honor Society | Noble Gases |
| Math Association | Elements with a prime atomic number |
| Rock and Roll Band | Metals |
| Singles Club | Elements whose abbreviation is a single letter |
| Start-a-Club Club | Elements whose abbreviation is a prefix of their full name |
| Statesmen | Elements whose abbreviation is also the abbreviation of a US state |
| Talk Like A Pirate Crew | Elements which contain the letter R |
| The Club for Unique People | Elements which do not have repeated letters in their name |
| The Consortium | Elements which end in “ium” |
| The Geographers | Elements whose name is derived from a geographic region |
| Xbox Gamers | Halogens (HALO is an Xbox game). |
Using the clubs and the names, it becomes a logic puzzle of sorts to identify which student corresponds to which element. For example, the only member of the Singles Club who isn’t in the Start-a-Club Club is Nathaniel, which identifies him as Potassium, as it’s the only element with atomic number less than 54 whose single letter abbreviation (K) is not also its first letter. Note that Nathaniel and Potassium are both nine letters.
In this manner, we can match each student to an element:
1 Kathleen H Hydrogen | 2 Jingyi He Helium | ||||||||||||||||
3 Eleanor Li Lithium | 4 Elizabeth Be Beryllium | 5 Chris B Boron | 6 Robert C Carbon | 7 Mitchell N Nitrogen | 8 Maddie O Oxygen | 9 Florence F Fluorine | 10 Cami Ne Neon | ||||||||||
11 Xander Na Sodium | 12 Francisco Mg Magnesium | 13 Marjorie Al Aluminum | 14 Sridhar Si Silicon | 15 Maximilian P Phosphorus | 16 Joshua S Sulfur | 17 Anderson Cl Chlorine | 18 Jenna Ar Argon | ||||||||||
19 Nathaniel K Potassium | 20 Lennart Ca Calcium | 21 Lawrence Sc Scandium | 22 Jonathan Ti Titanium | 23 Nicholas V Vanadium | 24 Benjamin Cr Chromium | 25 Sebastian Mn Manganese | 26 Leon Fe Iron | 27 Damien Co Cobalt | 28 Daniel Ni Nickel | 29 Connor Cu Copper | 30 Evan Zn Zinc | 31 Yannick Ga Gallium | 32 Alexander Ge Germanium | 33 Patrick As Arsenic | 34 Theodore Se Selenium | 35 Abigail Br Bromine | 36 Zachary Kr Krypton |
37 Hamilton Rb Rubidium | 38 Mackenzie Sr Strontium | 39 Charles Y Yttrium | 40 Frederick Zr Zirconium | 41 Justine Nb Niobium | 42 Wilhelmina Mo Molybdenum | 43 Clementine Tc Technetium | 44 Charlotte Ru Ruthenium | 45 Crystal Rh Rhodium | 46 Josephine Pd Palladium | 47 Toomas Ag Silver | 48 Lillian Cd Cadmium | 49 Joanna In Indium | 50 Kat Sn Tin | 51 Clarence Sb Antimony | 52 Christine Te Tellurium | 53 Curtis I Iodine | 54 Brian Xe Xenon |
Airplane Enthusiasts
Amateur Rock and Roll Band
Honor Society
Math Association
Rock and Roll Band
Singles Club
Start-a-Club Club
Statesmen
Talk Like A Pirate Crew
The Club for Unique People
The Consortium
The Geographers
Xbox Gamers
| Answer | Name | Clubs | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOSPITAL BENEFITS | Jingyi | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Math Association, Start-a-Club Club, The Club for Unique People, The Consortium | Helium |
| DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT | Justine | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium | Niobium |
| ENTROPY | Jonathan | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, The Consortium | Titanium |
| TASTINESS | Anderson | Airplane Enthusiasts, Math Association, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People, Xbox Gamers | Chlorine |
| LATE ONSET | Benjamin | Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium | Chromium |
| BOAT RIDE | Hamilton | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium | Rubidium |
| LA DODGERS | Maximilian | Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew | Phosphorus |
| ELLEN TEBBITS | Damien | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Club for Unique People | Cobalt |
| GIANT GROWTH | Kathleen | Airplane Enthusiasts, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People | Hydrogen |
| COSMOPOLITAN | Charles | Rock and Roll Band, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium, The Geographers | Yttrium |
| POUND STERLING | Theodore | Start-a-Club Club, The Consortium | Selenium |
| BUDAPEST | Evan | Rock and Roll Band, The Club for Unique People | Zinc |
| FUNNEL | Crystal | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People, The Consortium | Rhodium |
| RED DIESEL | Sridhar | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club | Silicon |
| MARCO REUS | Nathaniel | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Singles Club, The Consortium | Potassium |
| MILO READY-TO-DRINK | Clarence | Amateur Rock and Roll Band | Antimony |
| ANIME | Marjorie | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen | Aluminum |
| THE XX | Yannick | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Consortium, The Geographers | Gallium |
| DOCTOR STRANGE | Kat | Rock and Roll Band, The Club for Unique People | Tin |
| ATE DINNER | Eleanor | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, The Consortium | Lithium |
| DEFY | Toomas | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People | Silver |
| LULLABY | Abigail | Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People, Xbox Gamers | Bromine |
| PRODUCT TESTING | Jenna | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People | Argon |
| SOLVABLE | Florence | Airplane Enthusiasts, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People, Xbox Gamers | Fluorine |
| CHASKA | Lillian | Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium | Cadmium |
| SEA BREAM | Brian | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Start-a-Club Club | Xenon |
| DISTINCT FEATURES | Joanna | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Consortium | Indium |
| STOWING | Curtis | Math Association, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Xbox Gamers | Iodine |
| ERASURE | Sebastian | Rock and Roll Band, Statesmen, The Geographers | Manganese |
| TINFOIL | Mitchell | Airplane Enthusiasts, Math Association, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew | Nitrogen |
| BITE MARK | Christine | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium | Tellurium |
| PAISLEY | Maddie | Airplane Enthusiasts, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, The Club for Unique People | Oxygen |
| FAX | Lawrence | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Club for Unique People, The Consortium, The Geographers | Scandium |
| FANG | Robert | Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People | Carbon |
| GOOD FAT | Clementine | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium | Technetium |
| WHY ME | Elizabeth | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium | Beryllium |
| ANGLE BRACKETS | Daniel | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, The Club for Unique People | Nickel |
| NAPOLEON | Francisco | Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium, The Geographers | Magnesium |
| THE GOGOS | Connor | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Geographers | Copper |
| FUEGO | Cami | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen | Neon |
| BASIC | Zachary | Airplane Enthusiasts, Honor Society, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People | Krypton |
| HAM IT UP | Wilhelmina | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen | Molybdenum |
| SOLE MEUNIERE | Leon | Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People | Iron |
| WHITE | Frederick | Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium | Zirconium |
| END LOADED | Alexander | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium, The Geographers | Germanium |
| ARCHIVED EDITIONS | Josephine | Rock and Roll Band, The Consortium | Palladium |
| DARN IT ALL | Lennart | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Statesmen, The Consortium | Calcium |
| DRESS CODE | Nicholas | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, The Consortium | Vanadium |
| SALTON SEA | Chris | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Math Association, Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew | Boron |
| GATHERER CHILDREN | Mackenzie | Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium, The Geographers | Strontium |
| HABITUAL | Patrick | Amateur Rock and Roll Band, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Club for Unique People | Arsenic |
| UNDOING | Joshua | Singles Club, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew | Sulfur |
| NET LOSSES | Xander | Math Association, Rock and Roll Band, The Club for Unique People, The Consortium | Sodium |
| CALANTHE | Charlotte | Rock and Roll Band, Start-a-Club Club, Talk Like A Pirate Crew, The Consortium, The Geographers | Ruthenium |
Finally, we can use the second line of flavortext and the fourteen groups of four students provided below it:
- Francisco, Kat, Mackenzie, and Sridhar
- Benjamin, Clementine, Lennart, and Xander
- Abigail, Anderson, Justine, and Nicholas
- Abigail, Florence, Mitchell, and Patrick
- Alexander, Christine, Joshua, and Zachary
- Daniel, Evan, Maddie, and Robert
- Curtis, Frederick, Sridhar, and Xander
- Christine, Jingyi, Maddie, and Zachary
- Evan, Jenna, Lillian, and Zachary
- Clarence, Joanna, Marjorie, and Maximilian
- Cami, Daniel, Jingyi, and Josephine
- Charles, Eleanor, Kathleen, and Lawrence
- Hamilton, Marjorie, Nathaniel, and Yannick
- Charlotte, Jenna, Maximilian, and Toomas
The flavortext suggests connecting these students, which in turn suggests drawing lines between their corresponding elements on the periodic table. When we do so, we’ll find that each group of four elements corresponds to the four corners of a parallelogram on the table.
1 Kathleen GIANT GROWTH | 2 Jingyi HOSPITAL BENEFITS | ||||||||||||||||
3 Eleanor ATE DINNER | 4 Elizabeth WHY ME | 5 Chris SALTON SEA | 6 Robert FANG | 7 Mitchell TINFOIL | 8 Maddie PAISLEY | 9 Florence SOLVABLE | 10 Cami FUEGO | ||||||||||
11 Xander NET LOSSES | 12 Francisco NAPOLEON | 13 Marjorie ANIME | 14 Sridhar RED DIESEL | 15 Maximilian LA DODGERS | 16 Joshua UNDOING | 17 Anderson TASTINESS | 18 Jenna PRODUCT TESTING | ||||||||||
19 Nathaniel MARCO REUS | 20 Lennart DARN IT ALL | 21 Lawrence FAX | 22 Jonathan ENTROPY | 23 Nicholas DRESS CODE | 24 Benjamin LATE ONSET | 25 Sebastian ERASURE | 26 Leon SOLE MEUNIERE | 27 Damien ELLEN TEBBITS | 28 Daniel ANGLE BRACKETS | 29 Connor THE GOGOS | 30 Evan BUDAPEST | 31 Yannick THE XX | 32 Alexander END LOADED | 33 Patrick HABITUAL | 34 Theodore POUND STERLING | 35 Abigail LULLABY | 36 Zachary BASIC |
37 Hamilton BOAT RIDE | 38 Mackenzie GATHERER CHILDREN | 39 Charles COSMOPOLITAN | 40 Frederick WHITE | 41 Justine DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT | 42 Wilhelmina HAM IT UP | 43 Clementine GOOD FAT | 44 Charlotte CALANTHE | 45 Crystal FUNNEL | 46 Josephine ARCHIVED EDITIONS | 47 Toomas DEFY | 48 Lillian CHASKA | 49 Joanna DISTINCT FEATURES | 50 Kat DOCTOR STRANGE | 51 Clarence MILO READY-TO-DRINK | 52 Christine BITE MARK | 53 Curtis STOWING | 54 Brian SEA BREAM |
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
Table 8
Table 9
Table 10
Table 11
Table 12
Table 13
Table 14
| Students | Elements | Center | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco, Kat, Mackenzie, and Sridhar | Mg - Sn - Sr - Si | Fe | SOLE MEUNIERE |
| Benjamin, Clementine, Lennart, and Xander | Cr - Tc - Ca - Na | Ti | ENTROPY |
| Abigail, Anderson, Justine, and Nicholas | Br - Cl - Nb - V | Cu | THE GOGOS |
| Abigail, Florence, Mitchell, and Patrick | Br - F - N - As | S | UNDOING |
| Alexander, Christine, Joshua, and Zachary | Ge - Te - S - Kr | Se | POUND STERLING |
| Daniel, Evan, Maddie, and Robert | Ni - Zn - O - C | Al | ANIME |
| Curtis, Frederick, Sridhar, and Xander | I - Zr - Si - Na | Co | ELLEN TEBBITS |
| Christine, Jingyi, Maddie, and Zachary | Te - He - O - Kr | Cl | TASTINESS |
| Evan, Jenna, Lillian, and Zachary | Zn - Ar - Cd - Kr | As | HABITUAL |
| Clarence, Joanna, Marjorie, and Maximilian | Sb - In - Al - P | Ge | END LOADED |
| Cami, Daniel, Jingyi, and Josephine | Ne - Ni - He - Pd | Si | RED DIESEL |
| Eleanor, Charles, Kathleen, and Lawrence | Li - Y - H - Sc | Mg | NAPOLEON |
| Hamilton, Marjorie, Nathaniel, and Yannick | Rb - Al - K - Ga | Mn | ERASURE |
| Charlotte, Jenna, Maximilian, and Toomas | Ru - Ar - P - Ag | Ga | THE XX |
Since this is the Student Center meta, we should identify the student who corresponds to the element at the center of each parallelogram. Reading the first letters of their answers spells SET UP AETHER NET. To get the students connected again, we need to use aether (the fifth classical element) to establish a wireless network for communication.