Coming to college can be frightening because some people come with no one on their side. They come without best friends or high school acquaintances to latch onto. Some students just want to branch out and meet people with similar interests.
With more than 350 student organizations, Ball State offers students multiple ways to get involved and meet new people.
Athletic enthusiasts can join a number of sporting clubs such as synchronized swimming, rugby or snowboarding. For those looking to use their imagination and show their perspective, they can join a number of writing or art clubs.
Every club offers something to its members. Students can play Quidditch, act in skits or even have an entire army at their fingertips.
QUIDDITCH
Mac Randolph paced around the outside of a coned rectangle after placing three dodgeballs and a volleyball in the center. Six people stood on opposite sides of the rectangle and clutched four-foot broomsticks in their hands.
"Brooms down," Randolph belted across the field.
The waiting players simultaneously knelt down on one knee and put the broomsticks to their right. Their eyes stayed fixed on the balls placed in front of them. Randolph waited to give the next order, leaving only the sounds of passing cars, rustling leaves from the nearby trees.
Randolph's yell cut through the silence: "Brooms up!"
Both teams sprinted out of their kneeling position, lodged the broomstick between their legs, eager to be the first player to reach one of the balls. Like dodgeball, the teams met in the middle and collided with one another while they attempted to get the balls.
It was the start of a practice scrimmage match for the Ball State Quidditch League.
For the past three weeks, students have been showing up to West Campus Field three times a week to improve their quidditch skills in hopes of making this year's tournament team. Randolph, team coach, is working to get the players where they need to be for try outs.
"Not everyone out here is a huge 'Harry Potter' nerd," junior John Lenderts said. "I was dragged out to a practice by my girlfriend and ended up staying because of how physical it is."
Even with the broomsticks wedged between their thighs, players still sprint at full speeds down the field clutching volleyballs and evading the dodgeballs.
One-handed tackles are permitted and no one forgets it as players tackle and collide with one another to gain possession of the balls.
By the end of the match, the skin of players is irritated red and their clothes have rips and holes from the action.
"Some games are really aggressive, and it's like football without the pads," Lenderts said.
The team is preparing for its tournament season that starts in October. It plays other university teams from the Midwest and is shooting for the World Cup this year.
Anyone is welcome to attend practices and pick up a broomstick. Those who have been attending practices can try out for the tournament team that has 21 open spots, president Sara Makey said.
SOMETHING ELSE
Karla Wilson guided four people down side streets and through backyards as she walked toward Tuhey Park on Saturday. She weaved through houses and down driveways while carrying two hula hoops and an orange dodgeball.
Wilson took the day off from shooting and editing a skit for Something Else to play a game of kickball with its members.
"I thought we could take a break from production," Wilson said. "It's a way for us to have a good time without the stress of placing lights or memorizing scripts."
Something Else is a skit comedy group that produces an original skit every two weeks. All material is written, directed and edited by students involved in the club. All of the skits are uploaded to SomethingElseTV on YouTube.
"At our weekly meetings, we have people sit in a circle and pitch ideas," Wilson said. "During that same meeting, we audition and cast members into the skit."
On Sunday, the group got together to edit its most recent skit "CockRocker: The Uprising." It depicts the birth of a baby who was born to "rock out with his cock out." After the group was done editing, it begin working on the next skit.
With only five people at the kickball game, the members found other ways to entertain themselves. They played a quick game of capture the flag before collapsing in a circle on the cut grass.
Their simple conversations turned into an idea for a skit. Sophomore David Glass joked about a house filled with people who think they are Jesus.
"Jesus could open the fridge and see a bunch of wine and yell to the house 'C'mon guys, I just wanted some water,'" Glass said.
Wilson took notes on a used pizza box while the group pitched different ideas.
Something Else does more than just skits, it hosts a WCRD radio show on Sundays and produces a freshman movie. At the end of the year, the group does its annual "24 in 24." For the "24 in 24," the group produces 24 skits in 24 hours.
"Everyone in the club is really fun, and we all hang out," Glass said. "We stay productive but have a good time while we do it."
Something Else meets at 10 p.m. every Tuesday in the David Letterman Communication and Media Building Room 261.
MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Meghan Gillespie walked into a room overflowing with testosterone last night. She stood in the doorway, toting her pink Alpha Chi Omega bag, searching for a place to sit. Stuffed inside her new bag was her collection of Magic: The Gathering cards that she has spent the past four years perfecting.
Gillespie walked into the third Magic: The Gathering meeting of the year.
"I found out about the club from the Pride Guide," Gillespie said. "Last week was the first time I attended a meeting and it was a little awkward because I was the only girl. The room went silent when I first walked in, but I think the boys are warming up to me though."
Magic: The Gathering is a new club on campus that meets weekly to play the card game Magic: The Gathering. The object of the game is to use different land, creature and spell cards to defeat their opponent. Each player starts with 60 cards and 20 health points. Players lose by having no more cards to play, or by losing all of their health points.
"It's a game that you learn by playing. It's extremely difficult to explain without playing it," sophomore Riley Spelman said. "Basically it's a game about war, and we yell, scream and get mad at each other, but at the end of each game we are friends."
The club held its very first meeting Sept. 4. President Collin McCord started a club after joking with his friends last year about it. McCord and his friends played Magic every Thursday last year and over time developed a steady group of participants.
With faculty advisor Joel Bynum, McCord wrote up a constitution and presented it at the end of last year.
"We started out with four or five people in the beginning, but it quickly grew to over 20," McCord said. "It's only the third meeting and we already have 22 people that come on a steady basis. This might be a lot bigger than I imagined."
The club welcomes all to come out and play Magic on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. The club focuses on game play and spends every meeting playing different tournaments and improving game play.
"We welcome everyone with open arms," McCord said. "I've met some of my best friends in this club. We had two new members show up tonight, and they are already playing games against people."
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