Eman Ghacham/The Cougar
There are over 500 organizations at UH and students can always find some that appeal to students’ interests of culture and career.
Many students these days are geek culture fanatics like anime, animation and gaming. With more organizations being created, there is more opportunities for students to engage with their hobbies.
Here are some recommendations:
Coog Gaming & eSports
Coog Gaming & eSports is an organization that is dedicated to video games on campus. Students get to hang out and play or compete in games like Super Smash Bros., Ultimate, League of Legends, Overwatch and other games.
“We are the place for students to come play video games and compete in eSports,” said mechanical engineering PhD and eSports officer Arturo Haces Garcia. “Our eSports side is focused on competing and given a platform to find players with a similar mindset and skill level.”
Their gaming side is focused on the casual aspects where people play games but don’t compete. It’s just a community of individuals that play games and want to socialize, Garcia said.
Apart from the tournaments, the organization holds Tuesday meetings as well. Previously, they have also organized big events like CougarCon, UH’s yearly convention, and Nintendo Night, an event in collaboration with the UH Trading Card Game Club.
The UH Trading Card Game Club
The UH Trading Card Game Club is part of Coog Gaming & eSports. It is where card players on campus meet weekly and duel in matches.
“We play various trading card games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic, Pokemon, One Piece and anything you can think of,” said finance senior and President of the UH TCG Club Raccoon Kohlmeyer. “We are always looking to add new games and activities to our club and organization.”
Trading card games have a cultural impact on the world, with many people playing at tournaments, at home or at the Student Center.
Ongoing franchises like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! get new card series to keep players coming back to play.
“Mostly we target freshman to junior year students mainly because we want people who are gonna stay with the organization for a long period of time,” Kohlmeyer said. “We want people we can trust to take it over in the long term and who have the time commitment to really take fun and enjoyment in our events.”
Anime No Kai
Fans of Japanese culture, such as anime and manga, can hangout at Anime No Kai. Everyone present can watch multiple anime series and films together like Ranking of Kings at the Bayou City room in Student Center South.
The organization also holds other events like fundraisers, karaokes and group parties to keep its members involved.
“Every week, we have a Wednesday and Friday meeting, so we watch anime for the first time and have a fun activity for the second half,” said graphic design sophomore and President of Anime No Kai Erin Revote. “People love to watch anime and read manga, I’ve only been there for a year but I made such good friends. Most of the people are welcoming.”
Anime No Kai’s events for October were Fright Month, weekly horror movie nights with Coog Gaming & eSports in their Discord servers every Friday, a haunted house for next Friday and a Halloween party on Oct. 30.
Live Action Role Playing at UH
Live Action Role Playing is an interactive activity to role play in the field. Students pretend to be any character they like and engage in duels or large battles by fighting with foam swords while placing in a medieval setting and tone.
“LARP at UH is a leisure sport club focused around sword fighting,” said industrial design junior and President of LARP at UH Kai Roebuck. “This club is a wind down for a lot of us here, a way to release the stress of the week and just have fun being goofy.”
The club plays outside at Lynn Eusan Park every Wednesday night. LARP will organize an event known as a Bardic on Nov. 20 to sit around, sing songs and share some stories.
Students can find these organizations and more information about them on GetInvolved.
