Can you honestly say that you've had the experience of sipping a butterbeer while listening to a potions-making lecture, without having walked through a brick wall in a London subway station? The Honors College offered exactly that opportunity on March 2, 2017 when students from across Rutgers came for a Harry Potter-themed Geek Week celebration dedicated to the “geeks” of the sci-fi and fantasy genres.
Anurag Modak ('20, SAS), an HC Student Advisory Board member, says that Geek Week is a great opportunity for people to showcase interests that they otherwise may not be able to explore and share.
Students enjoyed homemade butterbeer, edible snitches, and Sorting Hat cupcakes, and made their own wands and potions. They listened to guest lecturers Dr. Sandra Russell Jones of Rutgers who spoke about religion in Harry Potter and Dr. Wendy Turner of Augusta University who talked about Medieval history and mythology, and they watched Bob Porcja of Rutgers turn glass into silver and perform other amazing chemistry demonstrations. They topped off the evening with a screening of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them!
Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Krista Klein, says, “Geek Week is important because it provides the opportunity for all Rutgers students to connect with something that they’re passionate about. It helps students find that niche.”
Geek Week is the only event at Rutgers that connects popular culture with interdisciplinary academic elements like chemistry, history, literature, religion, and economics to create a truly unique learning opportunity. Geek Week is made possible thanks to the Rutgers University Class of 1970, whose financial contribution provides for such an academically engaging event, and the Honors College Student Advisory Board, which conceptualized and implemented the event starting last year with a Star Wars-themed event.