Journeying through the crowded, winding maze of the Student Activities Fair might lead a new student to believe there are simply no interests that are not represented by some University organization. Last August, however, then-first-year College students Margaret Lipman and Will Stewart, who attended the same high school in northern Virginia, found an exception.
“We saw that there were a ton of clubs with really specialized interests, like the Classics Club, or the Strategy Gaming Club and stuff like that,” Lipman said. “Tons of people like Harry Potter, we really like Harry Potter — there should be a Harry Potter club!”
From this resolution came the birth of Wahoo Witches and Wizards — the first Harry Potter club at the University — which became an official CIO in fall 2007. The club, Lipman said, drew its inspiration from a similar organization at the College of William & Mary, which in recent years has gathered a large membership.
The club, officially titled Wahoo Witches and Wizards: A Harry Potter Appreciation Society, has from the beginning stressed an extremely casual atmosphere. The group even held its first meetings in Stewart’s suite in Watson and in the classrooms of Cauthen dormitory. (They now typically meet in Minor Hall.)
“We try to keep it very informal and laid-back and we don’t have a strict schedule or anything, or any agenda,” Stewart said. “We’re just trying to have a good time and talk about Harry Potter because we love it.”
Meetings, therefore, have little aim other than to provide a positive, relaxed atmosphere where members can foster their love for the magical creation of British author J.K. Rowling. Meetings typically consist of trivia games — where members divide into the four House teams (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin) and compete for points — and Harry Potter related video viewings, as well as the occasional experimental beverage.
“Will and Margaret [the club’s founders] were kind enough to make butterbeer —‘Muggle’ butterbeer, in reference to the Muggles [non-magical people] in the books,” second-year College student Jonathan Welch said. The two created the drink as a tribute to the imaginary beverage popularly consumed by the characters in the series. The recipe, which contains butterscotch, melted butter, condensed milk and cream soda, was one that Lipman found on the Food Network. The result, Lipman said, was “interesting.”
Even with such an intentionally laid-back atmosphere, Stewart and Lipman take their meetings seriously. They encourage discussion of controversial topics, such as Rowling’s announcement that Professor Dumbledore, one of the most noble and admirable heroes of the book, was gay, as well as the lawsuits surrounding a Web site called the “Harry Potter Lexicon.”
The general response to the club has been positive, Stewart said, and the founders are prepared to address any criticism of the series.
“If someone objected to something and wanted to discuss the morality of Harry Potter, that would be an awesome thing to discuss in a meeting,” Lipman added.
Just as a variety of topics are covered during meetings, there also exists a wide range in levels of enthusiasm among members.
“There are some people in the club who are very intense about it, and, you know, good for them,” Welch said. But he, on the other hand, represents another end of the spectrum. “The books were interesting, and I guess I just decided to go to the club to see what other people thought and not because I was super fanatic.”
One member at the group’s first meeting this year, which took place earlier this month, hadn’t even finished reading the series.
While Stewart and Lipman welcome new members of all commitment levels, they especially encourage those who would be willing to help them take the club even further, because the CIO is still in its early stages of development. Meetings occur roughly once a month, and outside activities, though popular among club members, are somewhat rare. Last year, the club rented the fifth and latest movie, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” and showed it in the Gilmer Hall auditorium. They also attended the movie showing in Newcomb Hall Theater as a group.
Still, Lipman said, “We ... want to try and expand what the club does.” Consequently, the club plans to hold elections during its next meeting. Elections will include the position of Quidditch Captain, a reference to the one and only popular sport of the Harry Potter series. Among the activities the co-founders hope to organize are Quidditch games, not unlike the one hosted by Brown Residential College earlier this year where the Golden Snitch, a self-propelled ball that flies through the air, was a student with a ball duct-taped to his back.
Other proposed events, which Lipman and Stewart hope new officers will help to organize, include more movie screenings and possibly a Triwizard Tournament and Yule Ball — both of which took place in the fourth book, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
“It’s going to be exciting, these events I hear,” Welch said. “Hopefully we’ll get some new members.”
Ultimately, the club’s primary goals are to grow — its Facebook group has almost 70 members, Lipman said — although the attendance at meetings is closer to 20 — and to have fun. “We’re just a laid-back group of people who like to hang out,” Lipman said.
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