Freshman Tim McCauliff from Southaven, Miss. plays Yu-Gi-Oh! in the Ole Miss Student Union in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. (DM Photo/Cady Herring)
Playing cards litter the tables between junk food and laptops, on which students beat rhythmically.
Others stand and wander amongst the overcrowded tables, comparing not only their days, but gaming news and tactics in different systems. The conversations wander to other topics; loud expressions reaching over the hubbub describe problems and accomplishments among the gamers. Bystanders watch matches between friends or curl up in chairs to begin games of their own. One student looks increasingly interested in his screen as his fingers flutter between the keys.
What’s he doing?
“Oh, just conquering Asia,” freshman William Hicks replies. Hicks is playing Europa Universalis IV4, just one of the many activities going on in the tight area.
A voice calls the ruckus to attention as president “Cookie” Chris Williams stands and begins the first annual meeting of the Ole Miss Gamers Association, fondly known as OMGA.
The gamers association is one of the many associations on the university’s campus, and certainly one of the more inimitable ones. Like any other organization, it is full of interested people and their diverse likes and dislikes. Centered is the love of gaming; no particular game is played. Rather, anything and everything is welcome.
“OMGA is generally a social group,” Williams said. “We try our best to bring in people from the Ole Miss area who are involved in gaming as well as the Northern Mississippi area such as Lafayette County, Southaven and Tupelo. We even have some people who come down from Memphis to play games with us. Basically, all we do is we play games.”
OMGA was founded in 2006, but Williams said the group beginnings reached back to 2005.
“Back in 2005, a group of gamers were kind-of at the time being led by a professor here on campus,” Williams said. “He and a group of his friends who were mostly tabletop RPG-ers formed an organization that became official in 2006.”
Though the association began around role-playing games (RPGs) with a limited number of players, it has developed to include a plethoric selection of games and has grown yearly.
“It started out as a place for people who were into mostly an RPG setting to get together, have fun and play tabletop RPGs,” Williams said. “It grew more; we ended up getting a lot more card gamers and board gamers. We got a lot of people who were mainly into just video games. We kept on growing by what people were interested in, and because of that, people continued to make friends.”
Now, the library of games available include Magic the Gathering, Monopoly, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Clue, Risk, Mario Kart and a seemingly endless supply of others.
The group has come to represent many things, but members agreed that it provides an evening of relaxation between demanding classes and hectic school days.
“I am an international studies major, and we have a lot of stress put on us,” said Margaret Simonson, junior and second year member of the gamers association. “I like, on one night a week, to be able to just shed all of my responsibilities and just to play video games or card games and not have to worry about school.”
“It’s a great stress reliever and it’s a good way to meet people,” said Alex Waters, sophomore mechanical engineering major and second-year member.
The association represents a diversity that is innate, if understated, on the university’s campus.
“There’s a lot to get when coming to college,” Williams said. “Having different environments and organizations that are allowing people to enjoy the things they already do is a good way for people to still get involved without actually taking away from who they really are. It’s always good to try stuff that’s new.”
Any Wednesday night at 7, the Union becomes a little more than it was only hours before. To members of the gamers association, it becomes a hub for students and members to see people who share their interests and get involved in a way that doesn’t require certain preferences or criteria.
“It’s a place where you can team up with people that you never would have imagined and then do things that you wouldn’t think you would do,” said Michael Ferrel, former president and current junior English education major, laughing. “But in a fun way that doesn’t result in your arrest.”
The Ole Miss Gamers Association plans to have a busy year, including a cookout, Halloween party and Christmas gathering, but will meet weekly to play games, meet new people and enjoy a night off.
“Not everyone has the same interests but that doesn’t mean that we can’t try things and make new friends and meet new people,” said Chris Hillman, association vice president. “If you like games, if you like trying new things, come.”
-Clara Turnage
