Kwantlen Gaming Guild Looks to Recapture Former Glory

After it was founded in 2014, the Kwantlen Gaming Guild quickly became one of the most successful student groups at KPU. It boasted a large membership comprised of students from almost every campus and held a number of well-attended events. Several of its executives even went on to fill important positions within the Kwantlen Student Association.

Though its status on campus has dwindled a little over the years, the current KGG executives—elected in May—have plans to re-establish the club as one of the leading contributors to student life at KPU.

“We’re currently in the works of redesigning our website, so once that’s done we’ll be doing a marketing campaign and putting that out there more often,” says Ryan Saunderson, president of the KGG.

In addition to attracting new members, the guild is working on a number of events to drum up support from within the student body. These will include both large-scale events open to everyone and smaller, more intimate meet-ups designed to get guild members together for some relaxing fun.

“Originally, there were more larger events under the first two years by the [KGG] founding president,” says Saunderson. “I’m going to try to bring that back this year.”

One such event that the club is planning is an “AFK” night, where members can get away from their keyboards to meet for dinner and games. Other nights, KGG members can hang out from the comfort of their own homes via the club’s Discord group.

The Kwantlen Gaming Guild’s biggest event is their “Gaming Dead” night, an annual Halloween mixer which borrows its name from a different George A. Romero zombie film every year. Though the event is typically held in KPU Surrey’s Cedar conference centre, this year it may take place in the guild’s dedicated meeting space, a glass-walled room with couches and two TV screens in Birch building.

This room, despite its advantages as a space for student clubs, may actually be a factor in the KGG’s dwindling membership as of late. According to Saunderson, some guild members don’t feel as comfortable in the new room as they were in the space they used to occupy, which was a multi-purpose social justice space that was converted into a lounge during the Sodexo cafeteria renovations last year.

“Some of the members are a bit more introverted,” he explains. “Before, [the Guild’s old room] was a closed-off space, so it was more homey and cozy, whereas this one has a giant glass wall.”

Saunderson himself refers to the first two years of the KGG’s existence as “the golden years,” and although the “old guild” had the benefit of claiming more members and a cozier meeting room, the new executive team is optimistic about the club’s future.

To get involved, students can like the KGG’s Facebook page or stop by one of their “Gathering Day” meetings held every Monday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm in Birch 266.