Always wanted to go skydiving on the weekends? Have a hankering to wear a clown nose around campus? Are you an avid, but closeted, squirrel fan? While getting involved in normal school clubs like student government and the university newspaper may be your initial thought when you land on campus in the fall, why not branch out and join the weirdest club you can find? Every college student is unique, and these student organizations at universities across the country sure fit with that adjective.
Check out this list of some of the quirkiest college clubs we could find!
1. Happiness Club – Northwestern University
Always smiling? Always the perkiest one in your friend group? Glass half full type of girl? If you’re going to Northwestern, you’re in luck! The happiness club’s main mission is to spread happiness across campus in simple ways. They chalk streets, post funny pictures and give out free lemonade and hugs. It doesn’t get much better than that! Check out this great article about the club!
2. Squirrel Club – University of Michigan
“The University of Michigan campus has some really big squirrels—like HUGE—and some students started a Squirrel Club to feed the squirrels peanuts every week,” explained Sarah Smith, a University of Michigan student and Her Campus writer. The group even had “Michigan Squirrels” t-shirts created in the same style as an athletic team, which drastically increased their popularity. Heading to the great lakes next year? Check out the club’s website.
3. Sky-Diving Club – Virginia Tech
If you wish you had wings, this club may be perfect for you. Soar through air with these pro jumpers, who camp out at jump bases nearly every weekend. If you’re a newbie, head to a Whuffo meeting, meant for those who have never jumped before. The group also hosts plenty of social activities, which vary from get-togethers at bars to hanging out and making home-cooked meals. Check out their website for more information.
4. Concrete Canoe Club – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Though it may sound like an oxymoron, the engineers of this incredibly unique organization have found a way to make concrete float. In fact, they’ve even entered competitions nationwide and placed second at the 2011 National Concrete Canoe Competition in Evansville, Indiana. Pretty impressive! Intrigued? Visit their website.
5. People Watching Club – University of Minnesota
Self-labeled the “the most ethically controversial student group on the University of Minnesota campus,” this club is for those of you who love to observe others out and about. Founded in 2008 by recent graduate David Shaffer, the organization aims to “have as much fun as [they] can” by learning and interacting with people on and across campus. “I most enjoy the unique experiences that come with interacting with Minneapolis and campus subcultures. I feel like watching and participating in events held by obscure peoples have helped me to become a more worldly individual and to come to better understandings of race, class, gender, and non-mainstream interests,” said David. It’s as simple as it sounds – the group chooses events to attend, heads out to observe people and then discusses what they saw at their meetings. You can learn more about the group, which consists of about 25 students, at their website.
6. Wizards & Muggles – College of William and Mary
Harry Potter fanatic? As long as you aren’t apparating on school grounds you’re free to join the Wizards and Muggles club, complete with a Quidditch team that competes with other local schools. Divided into houses that compete for points throughout the year, this organization is no joke! For information about their meetings check out the group’s website. Not at CWM? Have no fear. Thousands of college students across the country have started Harry Potter fan clubs at their universities – just check out your school’s website to see if there’s one you can join!
7. Clown Nose Club – North Carolina State University
If you’ve always wanted to join the circus, this club may be perfect for you. “The Clown Nose Club is all about challeng[ing] ourselves and others to take positive social risks in line with our philosophy of others,” reads the club’s official description. The group engages others around them by taking risks to redefine the norms of social interaction, so if sociology is your thing, definitely consider this club. Check it out here.
8. Cheese Club – SUNY Purchase
Are you a cheese aficionado? Want to spend your evenings with gouda, brie and cheddar? At this SUNY, the Cheese Club is certainly one of the most unique on-campus groups! During each meeting, members sample different cheeses and have discussions about them. Check out their Facebook group!
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9. Humans vs. Zombies – Goucher College
Always dreamed of turning your peers into zombies? This nationwide trend, which started six years ago at Goucher College has now grown into a cross-county phenomenon. Lauren Guerrera, a Fashion Design student at SUNY College at Oneonta, is involved in the “Zombie Defense Corps” on her campus. According to Lauren, the last game she played on campus had at least 80 participants. “The game would run for a week straight, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week,” explained Lauren. “Since there were no breaks in the game, aside from a few safe zones like academic buildings so we wouldn’t disturb classes, you always had to be on your guard. One of our members even created a website with a roster of players that you could follow to see who was still a human or not.”
According to the game’s official website Humans vs. Zombies exists at more than 600 colleges and universities across the country. Don’t quite understand how it works? Check out the very detailed wikipedia page!
10. Moustache Club – Carleton College
Seriously attracted to facial hair? Love men who rock the ‘stache? Although we don’t encourage you to grow one yourself, the Moustache Club at Carelton College fully encourages women supporters to join their organization. In fact, an entire page on the group’s website is dedicated to information about women supporters. “Men cannot do this alone!” proclaims the site. “We need the support and encouragement of women to succeed in spreading mustache awareness.”
Check out this video on the Carelton admissions website for more information.
11. The Harvard Tiddlywinks Society – Harvard University
What exactly, you might ask, is a tiddlywink? Though it may sound like a bizarre forest creature from Harry Potter, tiddlywinks is in fact an interactive board game played with small discs called winks. Using a larger disc, known as a squidger, to flip winks into the air, the objective is to land your winks on top of your opponents, and eventually into a cup or hole in the board.
If you’re an expert tiddlywinker, or just think this game is up your alley, read all the rules of the Harvard club. Still confused? Check out the Wikipedia entry on Tiddlywinks.
12. Students for an Orwellian Society – Columbia University
If 1984 is your favorite book and you’re planning to call Broadway and 116th your home next year you may be in luck. Well, you’ve got to be a bit more hardcore than that. These folks, whose organization exists nationwide, believe that Ingsoc, the political ideology of totalitarianism from George Orwell’s novel 1984, should be the basis of society. Their extensive website outlines the objectives of the group along with the successes of the society.
Not NYC or Columbia bound? The site also lists other universities who host SOS groups.
13. Assassins Club – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
If live action roleplaying is your thing, this club is certainly for you. Every Saturday evening at 8 PM, the group runs Patrol, a dart gun combat game classified as “high-action.” In addition, several other real-time, real-space role-playing games are run every semester.
“It’s Not Whether You Win or Lose…It’s how you play the game” reads the group’s website. “Bombastic outbursts. Glorious Revenge. Noble Sacrifices. Win, lose, or draw, breathe life into your characters and you’ll remember them fondly for years to come.”
14. Nerd Network – Appalachian State University
“I was uncool before uncool was cool” reads the logo of this group’s Facebook page. If you’re a nerd, and proud of it, you’ve definitely got to check this club out. The network encourages members of different groups on campus, ranging from anime to science fiction to comic books, to befriend one another. The group even hosts a NerdCon convention – a great way to interact with fellow nerds. Check out their extensive website and Facebook group both of which list information about meetings and activities.
15. Shire of Grey Gargoyles, Society for Creative Anachronism – University of Chicago
Wish you’d been born in the 1100’s? This club exists purely to recreate the medieval period – everything from the combat and cooking to social interaction. Also known as the SCA, this group places a major focus on participation and personal experience. “Under the aegis of the SCA we study dance, calligraphy, martial arts, cooking, metalwork, stained glass, costuming, literature…” reads the group’s website. “Well, if they did it, somebody in the SCA does it (Except die of the Plague!)”
The group notes that what separates them from a basic humanities class is active participation. “To learn costuming, you design and build costumes. To learn SCA infantry fighting, you make armor, weapons, shields, etc., and put them on and go learn how it feels to wear them when somebody is swinging a (rattan) sword at you. To learn brewing, you make (and sample!) your own wines, meads and beers.”
So now that you’ve got this list in hand, you’re well equipped to get involved with whatever club may tickle your fancy. Remember that whether your university is small or large, there is always a diversity of student organizations—so take advantage!
If your school isn’t listed here, don’t panic. There are thousands of crazy clubs out there, we just couldn’t possibly list them all. Check out the student activities page on your university’s website – it’s bound to host a list of all the clubs and organizations that are at your school. Now go get involved!
Know a crazy club we missed? Leave a comment so we can feature it in a future article!