NSO celebrates its non-humanity and diversity

Danielle Purifoy Guest Writer

Whether it’s anime, fantasy games, or The X-Files, the Non-Human Students Organization (NSO) offers a range of activities one might not usually find on campus.

“The organization filled about 80 percent of what I was interested in when I came here,” said George Peterson ’06, the First Minister of No-Fixed Address (i.e. NSO President). “It’s an expansive group and we do lots of things.”

Founded in 1996, the NSO, an affiliate organization of the Vassar Student Association (VSA), was created for students to participate in “geeky, fandom activities,” according to NSO member and Non-Con Director Erica Kudisch ’06.

“People got together to watch sci-fi shows or to discuss favorite fantasy novels, and the organization was a way to officially run these events,” said Kudisch.

Like any other VSA organization, the NSO has its own constitution, in which the definition of “Non-Human” has been the topic of much dispute.

“In the constitution, ‘Non-Human’ is defined as having that ‘I don’t quite belong’ feeling,” said Kudisch. “In days like today when ‘geek’ is becoming chic, that becomes pretty cloudy. Lots of things that used to set the culture apart are blurring with franchises like The Lord of the Rings and the new influx of anime from Japan.”

Peterson, however, said that if it had been his decision, he would have “thought of a different name.”

“Several people have tried to define what that means; I tend to ignore it,” Peterson said. “We’ve accepted being a little unusual. We have such a wide, varied amount of interests. Some of us are role-playing geeks. You usually have your passion and put ‘geek’ behind it, and you fit in.”

Unlike most campus organizations, the NSO holds events on a weekly basis.

“Nearly every day in a week, with the exception of Wednesday, there’s a NSO event going on,” said Kudisch. “We migrate from dorm to dorm. There’s an X-Files night in Strong on Mondays, movie nights are Tuesdays, on Fridays we have lots of games like Dungeons and Dragons, GURPS, and Unknown Armies. On Saturday they play Magic: The Gathering in Jewett, and on Sunday there is the gaming sector in the Retreat and anime night in the NSO room in the Raymond basement.”

Students wanting to hold other such activities need only to contact the organization for possible sponsorship.

“A couple of people wanted to play the card game Magic: The Gathering on a regular basis,” said Peterson. “We advertise for them and sponsor them officially, which means that they can spend budget money on supplies and snacks. Other than that, it’s a group that hangs out and plays a game they were already going to play.”

As budgeting for such activities requires extra funds, the NSO holds two yearly fundraisers, one of which is the upcoming production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

“We have auditions like any other production,” said Peterson. “Many NSO members try out, but a lot of people in the production are not part of NSO.”

Held every March, the second NSO fundraiser is Non-Con (the No-Such Convention), to which students from NSO-type organizations from other schools attend.

“The convention is five years old this year and it’s a small conference forum to which we invite guests in various sci-fi and fantasy fields,” said Kudisch. We’ve invited a few Vassar professors who have given us the pleasure of speaking and authors as well.”

Previous guests at the convention include the film companies Zen for Free and Breakfast of Demons; authors CJ Henderson and the Edgehill Sisters; and game companies Cheap Ass, Diet Evil, and Looney Labs. The event generally occurs in Rocky Hall and is free to the Vassar community.

Those interested in sci-fi or fantasy for personal recreation may gain access to the NSO room, which, in addition to being a meeting room for the organization, is also a library chock full of sci-fi thrillers, fantasy films, books, and other related paraphernalia.

“We have every episode of X-files, and one of our favorites is the movie Labyrinth,” Peterson said. “If you contact one of the leadership members, you can sign out some books and some anime.”

With some 200 to 300 students on the email list, the NSO, despite rumors of exclusivity, is a rather expansive organization that holds events for everyone who wants to attend.

“The only official requirement to be in NSO is to number one, be on the email list, and number two, come to an event every once in a while,” said Peterson. “Lots of people can’t distinguish between the NSO organization and the NSO social group that hangs out. Last year, lots of members who lived in Raymond hung out in the parlor. We started to get emails saying that the NSO was using the parlor too much, and we had to write back and say that it’s just friends using the parlor, not the organization.”

The NSO holds two recruiting sessions at the beginning of the year, one at the Organization Fair, and the second in Raymond parlor. For more information about the organization visit nso.vassar.edu or contact George Peterson at nso@nso.vassar.edu. To learn more about Non-Con, visit www.noncon.net.