Celebrating ‘nerd culture’ on campus
Samantha Cantu/THE RIDER
Enthusiasts of fandom culture will have a place to unite as the first-ever Union Con makes its appearance on campus, readying up a full afternoon of activities.
The event, organized by the Student Union, the Center for Student Involvement, and Housing and Residence Life, will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Commons on the Edinburg campus and at the same time Thursday in La Sala on the Brownsville campus, offering tournaments, panels, creative workshops and a cosplay contest.
Christopher Stubbs, assistant director of Student Union programs, said the event is designed to introduce students to experiences they might not otherwise try during college.
“We saw on campus that there’s a growing nerd culture,” Stubbs said. “So, we’re really excited to highlight our fan groups on campus and give everybody the opportunity to enjoy a large-scale event on our campus for the first time. I hope they engage with people who aren’t in their immediate friend groups and discover the arts and culture we have on campus.”
The convention will feature a variety of activities, including video game tournaments, Magic: The Gathering tournaments, live panels, a 360-degree camera experience, Super Soaker tie-dye and a Vaqueros Clubs fundraising hall.
Student organizations will also play a large role in the event, according to Stubbs. During the event, clubs will be fundraising with snacks available for purchase in the Ballroom on the Edinburg campus.
Among them is the Gutter Syndicate, a new comic art club at UTRGV that focuses on collaborative comic creation. The club plans to host both a panel and an interactive workshop during the event.
Club president Chloe Vela said the group started after she and co-founder Sophia Zamora-Wiley realized there was little space on campus dedicated to comics as an art form.
“We felt like comics weren’t taken seriously at UTRGV,” Vela said. “So, this was our way of kind of picking up the reins and keeping comics alive here.”
During Union Con, the club will host a creative workshop inspired by a drawing exercise called an “exquisite corpse,” where multiple participants contribute to different parts of a character without seeing the others’ drawings.
“We’re going to have giant boards where people can draw the head, torso and legs of a character,” she said. “Then we’ll put them together randomly so everyone walking by can participate.”
The club’s panel will explore the influence of underground and alternative comics, including how cartoonists have shaped ideas and storytelling in broader media, a subject many people are not aware of, according to the club’s president.
Zamora-Wiley, vice president of the club, said the goal of its presence is to introduce students to a medium they may not have explored before.
“There’s going to be a lot of people there that may not have much experience with comics,” she said. “Hopefully, this opens their eyes, and they realize there’s something exciting there.”
Next to Gutter Syndicate, the new live-action roleplay club known as Knights Guild will make its debut at the event.
In addition to creative workshops and panels, Union Con will also feature a cosplay contest, with registration opening today through V Link. Participants will need to check in at the convention, and spots will be limited.
Stubbs said he hopes Union Con becomes a memorable part of the university experience.
“I hope it’s something that sticks with them as part of their time at UTRGV,” he said. “And if it goes well, we’d love to expand it and make it an annual thing.”
Students attending the event in Edinburg will check in at a Student Union tent and students in Brownsville will check in at La Sala. Attendees can receive a convention badge, adding to the real “con” experience. A student ID is required.
