Kean University's Anime Society (KUAS) is a one-of-a-kind club on campus that encourages all to join! Members of the club get a chance to watch and appreciate new anime every meeting, while allowing themselves to bond, discuss and share their love for Japanese art and culture.
Secretary of the Anime Society, Evan McFadden, spoke about what makes the club so unique to Kean.
"The purpose of the club is to expose our members to the different kinds and varieties of, not just anime, but visual media... things that keep us interested and wanting to do more," McFadden said.
Each club meeting, members are encouraged to present an episode of an anime of their choosing that is pre-approved by the executive board. Afterwards, everyone gets a chance to express their thoughts about the show. McFadden says this system grants even the executive board the opportunity to learn and be exposed to anime they did not know about before.
Members of the club voting to visit the Cherry Blossom Festival in NY
"I love the way the stories are written," said McFadden about why anime is special to him. "When it comes to certain anime, the ones that stick out to me are the ones that have characters that, not only you can relate to, but also have a driving narrative."
About two anime episodes are allotted within the time of a regular meeting for members to present.
In addition to their regular club meetings, the anime club takes occasional trips outside of campus. Last year they were able to attend the Anime Convention in New York City, which was opened to the general student body at Kean. Next year, they are discussing plans on attending the Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom festival in Brooklyn, NY.
Certain events, such as Halloween, for example, even allow the club to cosplay. Cosplay is where the members of the club get the opportunity to dress in costume as their favorite characters. Although cosplay is encouraged, it is never required.
"I know me and the [executive board] actively cosplay, but it is never demanded or requested for the members to do so," said McFadden.
Interested students are more than welcome to join KUAS at any time.
"Come in and join!" McFadden said. "It is open to anyone, even if you've never seen an anime before. If you are interested, come in and see if you enjoy it."
Currently KUAS meetings are in the Center for Academic Success (CAS), Room 106 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Students may reach out to any member of the executive board for any room relocation, as they tend to change rooms from semester to semester.
The KUAS can be reached on Cougar Link, where all of the active executive board contacts are listed. There is also a Facebook page available for the club. By searching 'Kean University Anime Society,' in Facebook, students can find contact information through there, as well.
For more information regarding club meetings and activities, President of the Anime Society Renee Draper, can be reached at draperr@kean.edu. To reach the Secretary McFadden, email him at mcfadeva@kean.edu.
