Student club spotlight

culture@dailylobo.com

We get it — you’re trying to be cool by not participating in anything on campus. But all you’ve got to show for it are some thumbs calloused by a video-game controller, plus a seriously damaged liver. Maybe you have a few friends. Maybe.

A lot of on-campus events are pretty pointless, but you would be surprised by the quirky and creative student organizations you can find hidden in a long list from the Student Activities Center. The Daily Lobo has written about many of them, so here’s our compilation of the zaniest organizations UNM has to offer. Pretend you’re a werewolf, share your secrets, sword-fight in full medieval garb or learn to juggle fire — anything’s possible when you put your mind to it.

Juggling Club
Club members start juggling outside and move inside the SUB when it gets too dark. They stay until midnight, when they are kicked out by the cleaning crew. It’s not just throwing balls in the air — the club also provides rings and clubs. You can try nontraditional forms of juggling such as poi, in which a ball on a string is attached to the performer’s hand and swung in large arcs. Another form is staffing, in which a large wooden staff is rolled and balanced across the body. Club members will teach you whatever you want to learn, although fire juggling is not permitted on campus.

Spiritual Seekers Club
Prayers fill a room in the SUB every Tuesday night, but this isn’t just church — it’s a gathering for people to discuss and learn about religious beliefs, even if they do not feel particularly spiritual. Candles are lit and deep personal secrets are shared in an open environment. Some members feel lost within the rigid constraints of most religions; others feel it’s too black and white. Some just don’t connect with it.

“It’s a really powerful and uplifting experience to meet other people who can understand where you’re at, even if they are not the same religion as you, or even if their life story is completely different than yours,” club founder Melissa Hobbs said in February.

Mind’s Eye Society
This group takes Dungeons and Dragons to a whole new level, in which members physically act out imaginary storylines with the assistance of dice and character sheets. The group switches between pretending to be vampires and “changelings” every Saturday, and when bystanders ask what they’re doing, group members say they’re an improvisational theater troupe. Players keep their characters for up to 10 years and maintain close relationships and mutual history with one another.

“Some people have knitting or quilting groups, and we have a social group around role-playing,” Changeling storyteller Irene Zaugg said in April. “I don’t think we’re any more exceptional than another nerd out there. We show up to IHOP still wearing our costuming. We look a little weird, but there isn’t a hostile reaction to all that. There’s actually more acceptance.”

Society for Creative Anachronism

This may be the closest thing to time travel you’ll ever experience. Group members practice medieval dancing, fighting and arts and sciences. They learn weaving, calligraphy and fencing, and are a living research organization that researches by actually doing ancient activities. The group attracts art and history majors alike, as well as historical re-enactors.