Gaming and anime unite with new club
Hunter Wallace
News Editor
Are you interested in gaming, anime or just meeting new people? If so, then the Gaming/Anime Club might be just what you’re looking for.
The club meets Mondays from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 3 p.m to 5:30 p.m. in BTC 211.
The purpose of this club, which has about 18 club members, two advisors and four different roles filled, is to introduce students to different types of anime and video games.
“I started this club so that people can be together,” said Isaac Letchford, second-year Computer Information Systems major and Gaming/Anime Club founder. “The vision that I have for this club is that it expands beyond recognition and that it gets all sorts of people involved.”
Letchford thought of the idea for this club after coming to Hudson Valley from the University of Tasmania. At U-Tas, he became involved with a small gaming club and an anime club. Upon his arrival at Hudson Valley he was surprised to learn that a similar group did not exist.
“I didn’t realize how much of an absence there was until I really looked for it,” Letchford said. “I mean, there’s a cosplay club at Hudson Valley, yet no club that brought gamers and anime watchers together. I went to the campus center [one day] and saw a group of three people playing “Mario Kart” on a Wii on one of the televisions there. I was wondering, ‘If this was possible, why hasn’t anyone picked this up, and why isn’t there a club for this?’”
Letchford believes this club helps with stress management and social interaction.
“This club isn’t there just for people to say they needed another club to be started up,” he said. “This club is for anyone that feels like the world is just against them and want to connect with people that have the same interest and want to try different things. It’s always good to try different things.”
Any students who comes to this club will benefit by making friends with like minded people, which creates an enjoyable time for everyone involved, Letchford said.
“In the club, we have consoles, card games, watching anime and healthy competitions like ‘Super Smash Bros.,’” he said. “We have a discord server that you join for the club, and from there you can hear about information for the club and just let loose with memes and discussion topics. This is where people can come to relax.”
The Gaming/Anime Club is nearly official. Letchford is president of the club, followed by Chris Lashwa as vice president, who will take over next semester after Letchford has graduated.
Professors John Thompson and Joseph Stenard have both agreed to act as club advisers, and they helped move the process along, including student recruitment, filling positions and submitting a club charter. The club is now awaiting confirmation of approval from Student Activities.
The club invites anyone who wishes to attend, and stresses that no knowledge of video games or anime is required. Rather, students with open minds can come and learn from one another, Letchford said.
Letchford offered final words on those who wish to form clubs at Hudson Valley in the future.
“To those who want to start their own clubs in the future, I say go for it,” he said. “The sky is the limit, and the only person that’s stopping [you] from really doing anything is you. There’s a quote that I like to remember from the song ‘7 Years’ by Lucas Graham [and is] also the motto of the company my co-founder and I are co-founding: ‘I only see my goals. I don’t believe in failure ‘cause I know the smallest voices. They can make it major.’ There are many different possibilities for different clubs, just like there are many different places in the world.”