Shazam, a club for students interested in science fiction and horror, has tentatively scheduled meetings for Thursdays at lunch in room 450.
Senior Jesse Keneally and Sophomore Sami Brooker are two officers that host Shazam meetings. “I’d say the purpose of Shazam overall is for kids who are interested in science-fiction, horror, and any of the things that we cover, to just group together and have fun in whatever way possible. We’re not terribly goal-oriented; we’re just trying to have a good time,” said Keneally. “We’ve got a lot of varied opinions. We have nerds in all shades.”
The acronym Shazam stands for Science-fiction and Horror Association for Zombie Apocalypses and Magic. The club uses Mr. Phil Huszar’s room for meetings. Of Huszar, Keneally said, “He gives us the space and he gives us sarcastic opinions.” Due to scheduling conflicts with other clubs, meetings have been moved from Fridays to Thursdays, which is when they were held last year.
Brooker, the president of Shazam this year, said that she has much to live up to, considering last year’s administration. “The leadership last year was a very colorful group of people…They were all very artistic and unique and hilarious.”
Sophomore Emily Halaka will be this year’s secretary, despite not having been part of Shazam before. “As secretary, one of my duties will be to spread peace, prosperity, and Dr. Who to the world,” she stated, referencing the club’s group interest in the show.
Both Brooker and Keneally stressed that they believe that Shazam is an excellent place to simply hang out. “It’s a really great place to just congregate and be weird together. It’s kind of hard to just go out in public and be strange, and this is a good place to do that,” Brooker pointed out.
“The people in charge of the club will be happy to see [participants] if they just need someone to chill with. We’re an accepting bunch,” said Keneally.
“This year [the membership] is really up in the air. The first year we were a really small group and then we had a huge group,” said Keneally. She also added, “I’m getting a feel that we’re going to have a smaller group than last year. A lot of our founding members were seniors last year.”
While Keneally promoted her belief that Shazam isn’t based on hierarchy, Brooker added that she hopes this year Shazam will have more structure. “I want it to matter and for people to look forward to it every week,” she explained.