Last week, Kennesaw State celebrated Harry Potter, Aquaman, Pokemon, cosplay and all things remotely nerdy for its 6th annual Geek Week.
“Geek Week events change every year, but they’re always decided on by the student committee. This is a by-and-for KSU students event,” Director of Student Activities for the Marietta Campus Drew Harvill said.
This year, students had the chance to participate in events throughout the week on both campuses such as Stuff-a-Pokémon, Quidditch, a week-long Geek Art Contest, a Dive-In viewing of “Aquaman,” which took place in a pool, and the annual Pi Day Giveaway.
Saturday, March 16, KSU hosted its 2nd annual OwlCon at the Wilson Student Center on the Marietta campus. The one-day convention was filled with workshops, panel discussions, demonstrations, geek trivia and more. It was split into six sessions and featured a cosplay contest open to cosplayers of all ages and skill levels at the end of the night.
“This is my first OwlCon, but this seems like such an inclusive event. There really is a place and event for everyone here,” freshman psychology major Haley Johnson said.
Freshman media and entertainment major Sarah O’Reilly had the opportunity to host her own panel “PAC to the Past!” during the fourth session. Her panel explored the history of arcade and home gaming and how it has shaped modern video games.
O’Rieley was also able to include people from Portal Pinball Arcade and Twitch gaming live-streamers in her board of gaming experts.
“I was nervous because I had never hosted a panel before and wasn’t sure if there were other people who had an interest in retro-gaming like me. This was a great opportunity for me to branch out and meet others that were also interested,” O’Reilly said.
Each panel at OwlCon 2019 was created, organized and led by a student at KSU. Other panels featured included “Victory Road: The Ultra Guide to being the Very Best,” “Werewolf 101” and “Project Cosplay.”
For students interested in gaming, free arcade games provided by Portal Pinball Arcade were available upstairs in the Game Room. Downstairs in the Dogwood Room, attendees had the chance to try out games made by Game Design and Development Club members.
“It’s a very hands-on way to show what college students can do in game development and it’s been really fun to see the feedback and energy of people playing these unique games together,” senior game design and development major Brian Patterson said.
“There is always something to do on campus,” Harvill said. “Check your Student Inform email, log onto OwlLife or just stop by a bulletin board in the Social Sciences building. We want to encourage students to drop the routine of going from the parking lot to class and encourage them to get involved instead.”
For more upcoming events on campus and ways to get involved, check out owllife.kennesaw.edu.
