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The Indiana Daily Student

student life

IU clubs cater to various student interests

Quidditch Practice

While many of the 750 different clubs and organizations at IU focus on specific interests in academia, some celebrate more obscure topics like movie and television fandoms, video games or unfamiliar hobbies. 

Smash at IUB coordinates competitive gaming through Super Smash Bros., a game that pits various Nintendo characters from different games against each other. A key part of the game is that competitors have to play in the same room together. 

“You have to be next to the person to play it,” said Austin Fletcher, Smash Club CFO and treasurer. “You’re sitting a foot-and-a-half away from the guy you’re competing against.”

With more than 100 active members, Smash at IUB attends competitive tournaments in the Midwest as the biggest collegiate Smash club in Indiana, Fletcher said. In larger tournaments, it challenges players from all over the world.  

“It’s definitely more aimed toward the competitive side,” Fletcher said.  

Describing the demographic as the generic, stereotypical student in his early 20s that plays video games, Fletcher said the casual side of the club is equally important to the dynamic. 

“It’s super welcoming," Fletcher said. "These are people that are exactly like me. We also like to hang out outside of the tournaments and just chill.”

Another club that focuses on a fandom in popular culture is the Indiana University Quidditch Club, a group that honors the sport created in the Harry Potter universe.  Competing in the Great Lakes region, the Quidditch Club has almost 25 members and, according to club president Jose Martinez, will soon be one of the most competitive schools in the region.  

“It’s a mix between rugby, handball and dodgeball and is a very physical, full-contact game,” Martinez said.  

Despite the sport’s highly competitive nature, Martinez said its origin as a fictional wizarding game has created some difficulties for the club. 

“There are a lot of misconceptions about it,” he said. "It started out as a geeky, fandom-type club, and there are a couple of schools that are still like that, but it is definitely more than that.”

Many of the club members value the organization, not because of its relation to the Harry Potter universe, but because of the physicality and aggressive nature of the sport, Martinez said. 

“I am a Harry Potter fan, but honestly, that has nothing to do with why I play Quidditch,” Martinez said. “There’s a decent amount of people on our team that either don’t like Harry Potter or haven’t even read or seen it." 

A similarly competitive group on campus is Breakdance Club. Alexander Yu, a four-year member, said the club is focused on helping students learn and experience hip-hop culture.

A 15-year-old organization with about 10 members, Breakdance Club conducts weekly practices, choreography performances and battles.  Members travel all over the Midwest to compete in large-scale, bracket-style break dance battles, Yu said.  

“Obviously people can be nervous, but they’re a great experience,” he said. “Plus, you get to see styles and techniques from around the country.”

Yu said the primary goal of the group is to help lower-level dancers get over the learning curve, as this style of dance can take years to master. 

“Most of our members are devoted, but it takes a while to get to a higher skill level,” Yu said. “Whenever someone wants to learn something new, they just approach another member and ask.” 

A club with a more community-oriented goal is Campus Curls and Coils, which conducts educational, social and community events in order to bring unity to the black community, said Faith Girton, co-founder of the club. The club, which started earlier this year, celebrates natural hair.  

“Black, white, Latino, mixed, curly hair, straight hair, wavy hair, we’re just a safe space for black people to convene around the topic of natural hair,” Girton said.  

The 120 club members do more than just appreciate each other’s hair, though, as they aim to achieve real social discourse and achieve greater social equality, she said.

“We’re not just lollygagging around and enjoying each other’s time," she said. "We are reaching out to the community and educating people."  

Whether students are interested in having an effect on the community or just gathering with people that share their passion for an obscure fandom, there’s a club at IU for nearly every interest.  

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