by hida_jiremi on Wednesday 04 February 2009 - 23:03:32
Tonight's officer elections went smoothly. After my choosing to not seek re-election, we were very fortunate to have dedicated members step up to fill my absence. I would like to take a moment in this news post to thank the members of MSU for making my time with the club so enjoyable and for giving me the chance to build a larger community of gamers.
Our crop of officers for next year is (drum roll):
Zach Purol, President Matt Spradling, Vice President Rob Waltman, Secretary/Treasurer
Good luck, guys! We're all behind you!
Also, I want to remind everyone that UKON is only three weeks away! Now is the time to buckle down, find ways to pitch in and help out, and get ready for what may turn out to be our biggest UKON ever. I've been informed by our liaison with the Camarilla that the Vampire LARP at UKON has now been approved as the Camarilla game of the month, which is going to be a huge draw! We have not one, but two Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournaments going on Saturday! And finally, our last shipment of prize support came in, bringing our total volume of prize support from gaming companies to over a thousand dollars!
This is shaping up to be the best UKON ever, and it wouldn't have gotten here if not for the contributions of members, affiliates, and officers alike. Let's just keep it up through the home stretch, and we can all relax when it's done!
by hida_jiremi on Sunday 25 January 2009 - 00:08:05
It's that time of year again: officer elections! Next Wednesday, February 6, we will be having final nominations and open elections for MSU officers. Every voting member should attend if possible to cast your vote.
As a note for all of the voting members: If, for some reason, you can't make this Wednesday's meeting, please email me at -email- with your in absentia votes. You have voting privileges, and you should exercise them! Hopefully, there will be a list of nominees up on the listserv before the next meeting so that you can direct your in absentia votes more directly. Remember as well that you can give your vote to another member by proxy if you feel comfortable allowing them to cast your vote for you. I have to have email confirmation of a proxy before the meeting on Wednesday, however.
Otherwise, if you're not working, sick, or out of town, you should try to make the next meeting. It's an important event, and one that every member should try to be part of. Even if you're an affiliate (non-voting member), you should still attend, since you're allowed to participate in discussion and debate even if you can't vote.
See you on Wednesday!
Jeremy MSU Prez [Submitted by hida_jiremi]
Edit: Officer elections pushed back to February 6 due to inclement weather. Keep safe!
by hida_jiremi on Saturday 06 December 2008 - 03:36:47
As many of you are aware, we're only a couple of months away from MSU's annual gaming convention, UKON. This year, UKON will be held on Friday, February 27, from 5pm to 10pm; and Saturday, February 28, from 10am to midnight. The convention will be held in its usual place, the Grand Ballroom of the UK Student Center, with events spilling out into adjoining rooms and the first-floor Cat's Den. Admission is five dollars per day, and parking is free.
Every year, UKON attracts several hundred people from all across the Bluegrass region. It's a real blast, and if you haven't come before and have time this year, you should. We've got tabletop roleplaying from some of the best Game Masters in Lexington (and beyond), demos of new and interesting games, an artists alley showcasing some of the finest art local talents, a vendor area with gaming dealers from near and far, and a host of unique gaming events, including the Gamer Spelling Bee, the World Series of Geek Culture Trivia, and the UKON Auction.
If you're interested in participating in this year's UKON as more than just an attendee, drop us a line at president@ukmsu.com. We accept registration for vendors, artists, and special media guests until January 15, but we only accept registration for gaming events until December 31. Pre-registering your game gets you in free on that day of UKON, as well as giving you a chance to showcase your gaming talents for a wider audience than you might normally get.
UKON 2009 is also a very special event for the Miskatonic Student Union in other ways. This year, we celebrate 20 years on the University of Kentucky campus, and ten years of UKON. After nearly a decade, the stars are right... for a party! We sincerely hope that you'll join us for this occasion--and bring a friend!
by hida_jiremi on Tuesday 25 November 2008 - 15:08:47
It was so much fun, we're doing it again!
On Friday, December 5, the Miskatonic Student Union will be hosting a Super Smash Brothers tournament in room 206 of the Student Center. Registration for the tournament will open at 4pm, with the tournament set to start at 5pm. Admission is 5 dollars, with a cash prize to be given out at the end of the tournament.
The last one of these we ran drew almost 80 people, so it's bound to be a blast! Show up and show off your Smashing skills! [Submitted by hida_jiremi]
by hida_jiremi on Thursday 06 November 2008 - 12:12:00
This Friday, November 7, MSU will be sponsoring a Super Smash Brothers tournament in room 206 of the UK Student Center. Entry is 5 dollars, with a cash prize given out at the end of the tournament. Registration for the tourney will start at 5pm, with the tournament itself to start at 5:30.
It's going to be a blast, so I hope a lot of people will turn out for it!
by hida_jiremi on Monday 20 October 2008 - 12:07:26
The week of the fall social is now upon us!
This Friday, October 24, we will be working in conjunction with UK Anime to have a social event in the Cat's Den, from 6pm to 10pm, as a lead-in to the campus premiere of the fabulous documentary "Monster Camp." The movie will be showing at 10pm in the Worsham Theater, and I thoroughly encourage any gamer who's ever been interested in LARPing to attend. It's a very fair and balanced view of the hobby as a whole, and of the people that indulge in it.
Volunteer hours will be given out to any member who attends the event in costume, above and beyond the fact that it'll be really fun. The Friday event will have free food and drink, and free play on the Cat's Den games. I have it on good authority that UK Anime will be giving out prizes for best costume, and we've been given permission to hold boffer weapons demonstrations throughout the night. Enter the nerf arena!
The next day is MSU's fall social event, running from noon to 6pm in the Cat's Den. We'll have more free food and drink, more free play on the Cat's Den games, and several of our members will be demoing various board games or running one-shots. While attending in costume for Saturday won't get you any volunteer hours, it would still be pretty cool if you did, since it would get us more attention from passers-by.
I really hope to see a lot of members turn out for this event. This is the first time we've worked really closely with the Cat's Den administration to run an event, and if we make this one good, then it's likely that we'll have a lot of doors opened for us in the future. Even if you can't attend the social, do your best to come to the movie; and vice-versa.
by Ian Applegate on Wednesday 17 September 2008 - 17:51:08
We are currently looking for GMs willing to run games, and vendors who are wanting to run a booth at UKON 2009. This UKON will be Friday February 27th 5pm - Midnight, and Saturday the 28th 10am - Midnight. If you are interested please email the president at -email-.
by hida_jiremi on Monday 18 August 2008 - 19:40:45
With GenCon over and our club trip an amazing success, I want everyone to take a moment to look toward the new semester that's starting very soon. Our first meeting of the year isn't officially until September 3, but we will be having an unofficial club gathering in our usual meeting place (Room 106 of the Student Center) on Wednesday, August 27, to catch up from the summer break, discuss GenCon gossip, talk about the fall social, and otherwise just hang out.
Also, the campus club festival is on Thursday, August 28, and we still need three or four volunteers to come out and represent the club. I'll bring this up again during the unofficial meeting, but I really hope that at least a few people can spare two or three hours in the late afternoon and early evening to show up and support the club.
That's all for now, but there's sure to be more later! See everyone in a week (or two)!
As GenCon is getting nearer every day, we need to get the whole group together to discuss serious business about this important club trip. As such, I am arranging for us to meet next Wednesday, August 6, at 6pm in Patterson Office Tower. Everyone who is going to GenCon needs to be at this meeting, barring personal emergency. If you normally work at that time, try to get off work for at least an hour so you can attend this meeting. A lot of important information is going to be exchanged then, and if you miss the meeting, it probably won't get repeated in any coherent fashion.
Among the topics of discussion will be room arrangements, carpooling, caravan planning, personal information exchange, and event planning. Please try to be there for this. It's important to the club, and more importantly it's important to each of you who are going.
See you then, Jeremy Puckett MSU Prez [Submitted by hida_jiremi]
I know that a lot of us are going to GenCon this fall, so I thought I would post up some information that you may need by haven't yet seen.
GenCon 2008 is August 14-17 in Indianapolis, IN. That means that most of us will be leaving on Wednesday afternoon. Once the final room arrangements are worked out, and carpooling issues are settled, I'll do my best to rearrange the room reservations so that someone in any given car can check in. Still, it's likely that only I or Chisa will have the ability to officially check people into the hotels, so caravaning is going to be important.
Early registration for GenCon is still going on for another couple of weeks, and if you haven't pre-registered for your badge, you should. Pre-registration costs 65 dollars for all four days, versus the 75 bucks you'd pay at the door. The quick link to the GenCon registration site is: http://registration.gencon.com/indy/
Also, the events catalog for this year is already up (also on that site), so you should browse through it and see what events interest you. A lot of events sell out before the convention, so it's always best to snap up tickets while you can. A lot of events are free, but others cost money to enter, separate from your badge. Usual prices are in the $1.50 to $9 range, with most being either 3 or 6 dollars. A rare few (like True Dungeon) are more expensive, but most of those sell out early.
Right now, we're still trying to work out the caravaning procedure, but it's very likely that the plan will be for all of the cars to meet up at my place on that Wednesday afternoon, then to head north together. We'll try to set aside a specific stop for lunch (it's good to eat before we leave town) and then book it to Indy.
I know that this is going to be the first GenCon for a lot of you, and only the second or third for some. GenCon has become a tradition with me over the last several years (ever since it moved to Indy), and I hope that it will become one with all of you as well. GenCon is the Mecca of gaming, and few things renew my love of the hobby as much as four days surrounded by nothing but "our people."
In short, start making plans for GenCon. Discuss sleeping arrangements with your potential roommates, decide if you want to bring a cooler and/or snacks for yourself or to share, and start setting aside money for meals and entertainment. You can enjoy GenCon on a very limited budget (I've done so myself a couple of times), but you'll enjoy it a lot more if you have a disposable wad of cash to blow on events and in the dealers' room.
As the day gets closer, I'll post more solid information about the room and car arrangements, and we'll try to have a meeting for all of the club attendees at the beginning of August.
I hope everyone is having a good summer!
This news post has also been posted as a new topic in the Club Business section of the forums, so that members can discuss and debate about it, as well as talking about their GenCon plans. Stop on by and give your opinion! [Submitted by hida_jiremi]
