Sci-Fi Club keeps it weird

Hannah Fowl/The News Members of Murray State’s Sci-Fi Club gather around to listen to “Night Vale,” a popular sci-fi podcast.
Hannah Fowl/The News
Members of Murray State’s Sci-Fi Club gather around to listen to “Night Vale,” a popular sci-fi podcast.

Every Wednesday night, members of the Sci-Fi Club gather in room 551 of the Business Building to embrace their inner nerd.

The Club gathers together on Wednesdays to enjoy  everything from watching “Twilight Zone” or “Supernatural” to playing card games or designing banners to promote the club.

The goal of the club is to give students an opportunity to broaden their nerd horizons as a community, said Elizabeth Leggett, president of the club.

Originally, she joined the club for the social experience.

“As a non-traditional student, I spent a lot of time at home and saw this basically as my opportunity to meet people and socialize,” she said. “We want people to make friends and talk to each other. Nerds are notoriously bad at this.”

The ratio of women to men is currently at an even 1-to-1 but Leggett said previously men made up the bulk of the group.

Each week brings from four to 15 participants, whether it be just the officers turning up or curious students interested in the fliers.

The size of the turnout depends on what activities the club is hosting in that session.

Besides watching shows and movies, the club listens to sci-fi podcasts – namely “Night Vale,” the semi-monthly news-style podcast about the fictional town Night Vale – along with playing video games and working on their philanthropy: raising money to help the Murray-Calloway Public Library buy more sci-fi and fantasy books.

Leggett said her goal is showing more classics this semester, increasing the bank of knowledge for sci-fi favorites like “Star Trek,” “Lost In Space” and “The Day The Earth Stood Still.”

The club is hosting a retro-videogame night March 4, where members will bring in the gaming systems of the past.

The Sci-Fi Club does not ask its members for dues.

While it’s a win for members, it makes it difficult for the club to go on fieldtrips, Leggett said.

“We’re incredibly poor, so we haven’t gone to any conventions,” she said. “We’re thinking about going to see the new Avengers movie as a group when it comes out.”

Although the name of the club is “Sci-Fi,” Leggett said the point is making friends with common interests.

“We’re used to weird people,” she said. “It’s usual for people to come in a little strange.”

Story by Emmanuel AduContributing writer, and Amanda GrauNews Editor

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