Science Fiction & Fantasy Society celebrates 25 years at Texas State

Date of Release: 01/24/2006

SAN MARCOS—Student organizations come and go as often as the seasons change, but this year the Science Fiction & Fantasy Society at Texas State University-San Marcos is quietly--and proudly--celebrating its Silver Anniversary.

Founded in November of 1980, SFFS has seen a lot of change throughout the years. Four Star Trek television series have come and gone, along with other popular genre programs such as Babylon 5 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Live Action Role-Playing (LARP) sessions have replaced Dungeons & Dragons as the popular role-playing game of choice, while vast, online multi-user computer games have relegated the old Atari consoles to the dustbin of history. SFFS even sponsored its own science fiction convention--San MarCon--featuring award-winning author Elizabeth Moon.

“The group does many things each semester,” said SFFS President Nick Larkin, a senior criminal justice major from Austin. “We have road trips to the Texas Renaissance Festival in the fall, and are planning a trip to the Excalibur Fantasy Faire in Lockhart in the spring. We also make a trip to Aggiecon--a big science fiction convention in College Station--every spring.”

One of the biggest draws of SFFS is the camaraderie among the membership, Larkin said. Discussions range from the latest books, comics and movies, and informal after-meetings are often held at Valentino’s Pizza on the square. But one of the most popular draws over the years is the gaming.

“We play card games like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh. We also have LAN (Local Area Network) parties, with everyone linking computers to play Warcraft or another popular game,” Larkin said. “Our game nights include the card games, video games and board games. We also have regular LARP campaigns on the weekends.

“The main reason I believe SFFS has lasted so long is because people simply enjoy belonging to the group,” he said. “We’re a fun-loving group of friends that enjoy doing pretty much anything sci-fi or fantasy related.”

Weekly meetings are held in room 3-11.1 of the LBJ Student Center from 8-9 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters. Membership is open to all students, faculty and staff at Texas State. For more information, visit the SFFS website online at www.sffsonline.tk/.