Crazy College Clubs

I read this article today and have to share it. If you've read this blog before you'll know I'm a big advocate of getting involved in something when you're on campus, and this just goes to prove that there truly, truly is something for everyone out there.

Thanks to: http://classesandcareers.com/education/2008/01/18/5-strangest-college-clubs/ Where I found the list.

Princeton Mime Company, Princeton University – In an age where mimes have become an object of mockery, these brave students face their cruel world in silence... and with invisible walls, windows, and props and white face paint. It is assumed that this club suffers from an inordinate amount of communication problems and injuries resulting from collisions with imaginary objects.

Ichidan Live Theatre & Cosplay, Boise State University – For the uninitiated, like myself, cosplay is a craze in which fans of Japanese anime and manga dress up as their favorite characters and come to special events to show off their elaborate costumes. Apparently, even in the spud-loving heart of the rugged West, this movement has gained a group of devotees. This particular club performs anime-inspired stage plays (in costume, of course), attends cosplay conventions, and stages cosplay game shows. Naturally, the club members all have anime-sounding code names like Graal, Venom, and Cloud. Check it out: Ichidan.com.

Society for Explosives Engineers, University of Arizona – This club sounds like a blast (get it?). This dynamite (get it?) troupe is dedicated to educating students about careers in mining, specifically mining through use of explosives. In the process, they get to blow a lot of stuff up. They are a student chapter of the International Society of Explosives Engineers. Check it out: IcsRecruiter.com.

Yellow Brand Organization, UC San Diego – Judging by their rather cryptic website, this student organization is dedicated to combating technical ineptitude in all its forms. Uh-huh...

The Shire of Grey Gargoyles of the Society for Creative Anachronism, University of Chicago – This one is much like the Quill and the Sword in my last article in that it seeks to recreate Medieval life (i.e. swords, armor, feasts, minstrels, women with long, flowing tresses and low-cut dresses), but I had to include it just for the cool name. Check it out: Grey-Gargoyles.(Note: the SCA functions nationwide.)

The Quill and the Sword, Brigham Young University - Dungeons & Dragons was just the beginning. Dedicated to studying medieval history through "study, thought, and action," this club is composed of guilds, one for each trade. They have sewing guilds, blacksmithing guilds, minstrel guilds, dragon-slaying guilds, etc. They meet every week to sharpen their swordsmanship, organize feasts, and call each other by titles like "His Majesty Charles the Blue" (no joke). Check it out: QandS.org.

Anarchist Society, George Mason University – This club was disbanded in 2006 for reasons we can well imagine. Their activities no doubt included tutorials on building explosive devices, selling candy bars to fund that anthrax stockpile, and field trips to the Capitol Building to assess possible structural weaknesses. The scary thing is, anarchists would most likely be undeterred by a college administration crackdown; they're probably still out there.

Students for an Orwellian Society, Columbia University - For those familiar with George Orwell's 1984, this club espouses and seeks to forward the philosophies of IngSoc and Big Brother. For those unfamiliar with the book, IngSoc and Big Brother are bad, intent on stamping out individualism, keeping their population in fear, annihilating any sign of free thought, and forcing everyone to wear identical charcoal-colored pajamas. Take Communist USSR and multiply that times ten. Attention, citizens of the free world: the members of this club must never be allowed to fill any important government positions. Check it out: StudentsForOrwell.org.

The Harvard Tiddlywinks Society, Harvard University - No, 'tiddlywinks' does not stand for something else more sophisticated or clever. This really is just a club dedicated to playing tiddlywinks. They eat, drink, and sleep the classic game where players press one plastic disc on top of another, propelling it into a bowl or cup or whatever. Then again, I'd prefer tiddlywinks to anarchy or Big Brother any day. Check it out: HCS.Harvard.edu/~htws/.

MIT Assassins Guild, MIT - This club organizes live-action roleplaying games in which they chase each other around campus with foam dart guns, pretending to be assassins. They pretend to be witches, aliens, demons, and special ops soldiers. I don't know about you, but there is something frightening about the nation's most brilliant eggheads chasing each other around, pretending to be the Predator- and it's not just the inevitable lack of proper deodorant. Check it out: MIT.edu/Activities/Assassin/.

So, figure out something cool to do and get involved!!