Kwantlen Gaming Guild hosts seventh annual Halloween event
The event took place in the Surrey Campus Conference Centre after a three year hiatus due to pandemic restrictions
After a two-year hiatus, the Kwantlen Gaming Guild held their seventh annual Halloween event last week. (Emma Bolzner)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s student club, the Kwantlen Gaming Guild, held a free event for students to play video games, board games, and eat pizza on Oct. 31.
The club was established in 2014 and is one of the biggest clubs at KPU with over 160 members. The event was one of the first held at KPU since pandemic restrictions were lifted and was open to all KPU students. In the spirit of Halloween, students were also encouraged to dress up in their costumes.
Video games included Call of Duty and Halo, and classic board games like Sorry and Monopoly. Just Dance was also on a projector for students to play on the stage.
John Sou, vice president of the club, says events like these are important to have on campus.
“In my first year, I felt like KPU didn’t have a community. Events like these give us a sense of identity,” Sou says.
“Over the last two years we’ve been isolated. Now we have more freedom and can engage in more things. Whenever student’s want to have fun, this is one way to do it.”
Many students have also joined the club since the fall semester began.
“Once we got a new influx of people the club became bigger. We’ve noticed on our Discord that a lot more people have signed up and are more engaged since the pandemic,” Sou says.
Anand Gopal, a member of the club, also sees events like these as great social opportunities to meet new people at KPU.
“I feel like events are a great way for people to get used to interacting with those who have similar interests. Especially with the pandemic and everyone being locked indoors, we can finally get our social lives back,” says Gopal.
As well as meeting new people and making connections, the club is also a great way to take a break from school and de-stress.
“There is more to university than going to classes and studying. Having student life and making memories at university is nice to have,” says Brylian Marin, interim secretary of the Kwantlen Gaming Guild.
“Being part of a club forces you to hang out with friends and do stuff outside of [classes]. I’ve been here for six years, and the Gaming Guild has opened up a lot more opportunities for me to expand my social circle,” Marin says.
The club is always looking for new members. Meetings are held every Tuesday at 3:00 pm in the Birch Building in the Student Club Room on the Surrey campus.
“Anyone interested in gaming or related to gaming, like board games or card games, should join. It doesn’t matter what kind of game because you will find someone with similar interests as you,” Gopal says.
“We’re looking for people who are from all corners of gaming and you will definitely find a place here in the gaming guild.”
Students interested in joining the Kwantlen Gaming Guild can email hello@kpugaming.ca.
Editor’s note: Brylian Marin is also a writer for The Runner.
