By Ashly Hernandez and Ariana Afzali
Associated Students Inc.’s Bronco Events & Activities Team brought “Geek Week: Into the Bronco-Verse” to the Cal Poly Pomona campus.
Events took place between March 18 and March 23, providing proud geeks with opportunities for fun and food.
Makeup professionals came to the Bronco Student Center’s Ursa Major on Monday for a panel to teach makeup geeks about the makeup business.
Makeup and fashion are often overlooked as something to geek out about, but it’s a way for people to express themselves and create art.
Popular shows like “Face Off,” “Glam Masters” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” feature makeup masters who paint spectacular works on the human figure.
There are many people on YouTube and Instagram who have made a name for themselves by showcasing their artistic talents.
Makeup plays an important role in fashion, drag, movies, television and even cosplay, which made its way into part of round two of Geek Week.
BroncoCon emulated a typical convention like San Diego Comic-Con, RuPaul’s Drag Con LA, Anime Expo or WonderCon.
The Cosplay Fashion Show started at 7 p.m. in Ursa Major where students were given the opportunity to dress as their favorite characters.
Cosplay gives people a chance to become someone different from their normal selves, whether they do it for themselves or to entertain others.
“Anonymity is another reason why cosplay is great,” said a third-year graphic design student disguised as Lucario, a popular Pokémon, and maintained a get-up to keep up the mystery.
Artists and vendors tabled the event with items to sell and free Afters Ice Cream was offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Wednesday belonged to the fantasy geeks. And despite the rainy weather, many showed up to indulge.
Harry Potter was used once again this year, as a theme for fantasy. Last year, students were invited to play Quidditch, the sport from the wizarding universe.
This year, students created wands and stuffed a wizard plushy. They were also provided butter beer to drink and free churros from The Loop were also handed out.
With the popularity of the DC Comics film “Aquaman,” and the onscreen beauty of his underwater city, Atlantis made for another great theme for the afternoon.
The Bronco Makers Club (BMC) gave out free laser-cut wood planks with ocean-related phrases like “Yeah Bouy” and “Life’s a Beach,” which students could paint and take home.
Second-year international business and marketing student Brianna Brock is a member of BMC and loves to geek out about comics.
“It feels great having the opportunity to contribute to Geek Week,” Brock said. “I love the community and vibe of all the events. I also get to meet various like-minded people who also want to geek out.”
On Thursday, there was a Smash Ultimate tournament for the gamers. The E-sports gamers, anyway.
Many companies like Hyper X and ADATA Technology tabled at the events to talk with students about their business and their products.
AORUS brought along the VIVE Pro, a virtual reality headset, for students to play Beat Saber.
“I love gaming because you get to indulge in fantasy and get away from reality,” said Austin Sevilla, a second-year sociology student.
The club on campus Students With an Interest in the Future of Technology also had a table at gaming night to inspire those students interested in the technology of gaming.
Gaming continued on Friday night for the role-play and tabletop gamers.
We all know board games like chess and backgammon, but games like Dungeons and Dragons and Magic the Gathering appeal to different types of geeks.
Magic the Gathering, or Magic before becoming trademarked, is a collectible card game also played digitally.
It engages players who become wizards in battle and players use their strategy to win the game.
Dungeons and Dragons has become increasingly popular thanks to exposure in popular culture like its appearance in the Netflix show “Stranger Things.”
Recently, people have been sharing their game play on sites like YouTube and Twitch.
A popular web series known as “Critical Role” features voice actor Matthew Mercer as the dungeon master, leading a group of voice actors through Dungeons and Dragons campaigns.
Recently, the group has received tremendous support of over $7.5 million to have its gaming funded into an animated series.
Thus, proving the power of geeks.
Whatever people choose to obsess over, they will find a group of people like them who love the same things.
