It was – and still is – the talk of the town. A reported 490 players signed up to participate, and nearly 1,500 gathered to watch. At least 268 Quidditch-related tweets were sent by 84 different users on Twitter. It bucked a convincing victory from the Alabama football team as the Crimson White’s cover story on Monday. Even Denny Chimes joined in on the fun.
Broom-wielding students chased after golden humanoid Snitches. Partially deflated dodgeballs collided with chests and shoulders, but not heads, because that was illegal. Semi-deflated volleyballs soared through rings. Butterbeer was served at Hagrid’s Hut.
Students left tired, bruised, sore and elated. Responses have been nothing short of phenomenal from the winners, losers and on-lookers.
I am of course talking about Quidditch on the Quad hosted by Creative Campus. I, and undoubtedly everyone who attended and participated, commend the fine work of those involved with Creative Campus and whoever else lent their time and effort to the event that cast a Cheering Charm (Chapter 15 of “The Prisoner of Azkaban”) over campus the past week.
Creative Campus had a grand idea months ago and made it a reality. It wasn’t a panel or a guest lecture or an advocacy week either – though I do not mean to disparage these types of events.
Those in Creative Campus wanted to bring the fictional sport of Quidditch from the Harry Potter book series to the UA campus. It sounded ridiculous when I first heard about it, but don’t all fantasies seem impossible when someone blurts one out in a brainstorming session? Dismissing these inventive visions as impossible will only preserve their supposed impossibility.
Quidditch on the Quad attracted a wide array of students and even some non-students. All walks of campus were seemingly represented by at least one of the 47 teams. By holding such a successful event, Creative Campus has influenced students to take part in similar events and the next Quidditch tournament if the organization plans another one.
Our student body needs more unique experiences like this one, and we now have the proof that they can work. It’s up to the creativity and motivation of students and their groups to capitalize on an endless amount of opportunities.
Creative Campus’ ingenuity and drive should encourage other student organizations to take on a project that originally seemed preposterous. This group does have more resources than many of the smaller organizations on campus that allow it to pull off such a magical event. However, there are other large organizations that have the same capability to host something of this caliber.
For small organizations with big ideas, the SOURCE can be used as a resource to connect with potential organizational partners, even though its main purpose is to help students find organizations that interest them. Even Creative Campus had to recruit volunteers, and they worked with the Alabama Learning Initiative to hold a book drive during the Quidditch tournament.
All it took was a call or an e-mail. Collaboration is not difficult, but the organizations on our campus have yet to take full advantage of joint efforts.
Who could have known the impact of a bunch of broomsticks, rings and deflated balls? One organization did, and hopefully others will strive to create other memorable experiences as well.
Don’t dismiss what may seem as an improbable idea or the efforts of a group working to make their dream event a reality. This university can and should be looking to host more events like Quidditch on the Quad with more regularity — perhaps something such as a large game of foursquare on campus in March. That’s just crazy talk though.
Wesley Vaughn is a junior majoring in public relations and political science. His column runs on Wednesdays.
