Science Fiction Society | ||
---|---|---|
2007 T-shirt design | ||
Founded | 1974 | |
Class | Class I | |
Office(s) | Student Publications Office | |
2024 Officers | ||
President | Ana Zoe Rasking | |
Vice President | Taras Pylypenko | |
Treasurer |
Ian Wood | |
Secretary | Becca Shields | |
Diversity and Inclusion Officer | Raul Bottrell-Rogers | |
Events Coordinator | Bernhardt Adler | |
Public Relations Officer | Drema Uttecht | |
Head Librarian | A. Simpson | |
Annual Events |
Gaming Weekend | |
Related Organizations | Society for Medieval Arts and Sciences Game Development Club Anime Club |
The Science Fiction Society (SFS) has a self-descriptive name. They meet every Wednesday night at 7:12 p.m. They run many different events, including Gaming Weekend, Animefest (defunct as of 2006, may be picked up by the Anime Club), Friday Night Gaming in the Campus Center (formerly the Wedge), and random other events such as showing anime or sci-fi shows. In recent years the SFS has focused less on science fiction itself and instead on various other geeky topics such as card and board games, role-playing games, and video games.
The Science Fiction Society was founded by Steve Kovner, John Major, and John Kuklewicz in May 1974, will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The SFS maintains an extensive library of over 3,500 science fiction and fantasy books (as well as books and magazines of other genres and, surprise, games) which is available to SFS members. In Spring '04, an outgoing SFS member donated approximately $1500 worth of comics (about 400 - 500 in all), giving the library a substantial comic book collection in addition to graphic novels. In Fall '07, an alumnus donated the necessary funds for the SFS to obtain a LibraryThing account. The library is located in the Campus Center. It has become somewhat of an unofficial tradition for the SFS to obtain space once occupied by the campus newspaper, as in early 2007 the SFS acquired a closet in the Tech News office. The anime and manga library was established through generous donations in 2008, and continues to expand.
The SFS is associated with the social group known as Wedge rats, so much so that some consider the two to be synonymous. It is also commonly confused with the Society for Medieval Arts and Sciences (SMAS); in fact, the two organizations are entirely separate despite a small member overlap.
The SFS has sponsored a yearly T-shirt design contest since 2003. Many of the winning shirt designs can be seen on the backs of SFS members around campus, as well as in the pictures to the right.
In 2005, the SFS occupied the special interest house located at 25 Trowbridge.
In the 2006-2007 year, the SFS held public viewings of Battlestar Galactica (Season 3).
In the 2007-2008 year, the SFS held public viewings of Heroes (Season 2) and intends to hold public viewings of Battlestar Galactica (Season 4).
Weekly Minutes[]
An archive of minutes from 2007 to present can be found at http://sfs.wpi.edu/meeting_notes.
Current Weekly Events[]
- Book Club - Wednesday at 6 PM in the Library (Tech Suite 217)
- Wednesday Magic Casuals - 7:00 PM in the Campus Center Lobby
- Friday Gaming - 7:00 PM in the Campus Center Lobby
- Wargaming - Saturday at 2:00 PM in the Campus Center Lobby
- Open Playtesting - Saturday at 2 PM in the Campus Center
- Saturday Magic Casuals - 7:00 PM in the Campus Center Lobby
- Good Ol' Adventuring Time - Sunday at 2:00 PM in Unity Hall 400
Upcoming events[]
- Gaming Weekend D24: March 15 - March 17, 7 PM - 7 PM
- Gaming Weekend A25: TBD
Anime Hut[]
The "Anime Hut" is the nickname for any on-campus dorm room (usually in Founders or Stoddard) whose residents own a lot of anime. There can be multiple Anime Huts at once, and those who live in them tend to be SFS members. In 2002, for example, the Anime Hut was occupied by SFS members such as Craig Perko, '03, and Glenn ___, '02.
Officers[]
List of past Science Fiction Society officers
The Science Fiction Society's elected officers for the 2022 calendar year are:
- President: Zach "The SFS takes no responsibility for students stuck in the elevator" Jester
- Vice President: Ben "You're a Squid now, you're a Game now" Kresge
- Treasurer: Alex "Get Outlook of Samsung Fridge" Pietrick
- Secretary: Kurt "Ain Call" Lindenthal
The Science Fiction Society's appointed officers for the 2022 calendar year are:
- Events Coordinator: Renata "Grater Renata 🧀" Kaplan
- Librarian: Andrew "89332:9999876:019888 75" Fernandes
- PR Officer: Kelley Carlisle
- Webmaster:
To contact the officers with questions, concerns, or pudding, email sfs@BOB (BOB means wpi.edu)
Elections occur on the first Wednesday of C Term. The members with voting rights (a $5 fee that includes library access) then vote for a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. These four officers then choose from a pool of self-nominated Librarian and Events Coordinator candidates. Tradition in the SFS states that officers receive nicknames within the first three weeks of office, a tradition that is swiftly followed within eight weeks.
Miscellany to be Updated Regularly on This Page[]
- Scheduled Events
- T-Shirt Submissions
Notable members[]
In alphabetical order by last name:
- John Baird, '04 (active member until 2304)
- Rick Desilets, '10
- Dan Nash, '05
- Darren Torpey, '04
- Conor Walsh
Gallery[]
T-shirt design submissions