If you have ever felt that being on a rock in the middle of a sea has isolated you from clubs of your favourite pop-culture fandoms, fear no more. A student organisation in shining armour has come to your rescue from feelings of desolation and FOMO. 1-Up Club is a newly created student organisation on campus seeking to gather pop-culture fans and university students alike – and they will be present at Freshers’ Week 2018!
“We believe that pop culture is all about risk-taking and opinion-making, stereotype-breaking and world-shaking,” said Nicholas Camilleri, a 1-Up Club executive. Their main goal is to create refuge from student life and the encompassing deadlines and exams by giving students the chance to find potential friends with similar pop-culture obsessions.
1-Up Club was originally inspired by the JC Manga Club, however 1-Up’s mission varies in that it is to bring together as many people as possible of like-minded interests. That said, they welcome geeks, gamers, otakus, trekkies, potterheads, whovians and any other fandom revolving around comics, TV series, music and novels. ”Being as inclusive as possible helps open the doors to more people,” Nicholas continued, “as well as providing members the chance to discover new stories and media they otherwise would not have explored.”
Whilst discussions are undeniably at the forefront of 1-Up’s agenda, the club also provides its members with opportunities to connect by organising as well as attending pop-culture events across the island. The club also gives you the ability to support your growing pop-culture needs, since members get exclusive discounts at Buzzer Stationery, 1-Up Club’s main sponsor.
Having just started out, 1-Up Club is eager to expand and integrate within the pre-existent Maltese pop-culture community. Amongst their first ambitions are their Freshers’ Week stand on campus, closely followed by a yet-to-be-confirmed presence at next month’s Malta ComicCon. Not having forgotten their original inspiration for their club; 1-Up also have plans to better integrate and aid the JC Manga Club by allowing members from JC to naturally progress to becoming members at UoM.
If you ever wanted to give student activism a chance but tended to shy away from faculty-based organisations this is your chance to get involved. 1-Up Club will be present at this coming Freshers’ Week! The stand will be a beacon of pop-culture said Nicholas, “part cafeteria, part competition hub, part drawing displays, and with a little bit of cosplay and pop culture decorations sprinkled on top!”
Adventures await.
