At home in the lesser known

By Gwen Daniels

Published Oct. 12, 2007

Student organizations at MU offer the chance to explore interests as varied as jousting, climbing and rowing to designing a tractor and dancing.

In fact, just about anyone with a creative idea can start an organization, but only if the idea isn't already taken by the more than 500 other student organizations.

Here is a look at some of the lesser-known organizations MU has to offer.

Medieval

Re-enactment Society

History buffs can don armor or wield a bow and arrow with the Medieval Re-enactment Society.

The club is the student branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., an international organization that promotes the activities and arts of the Middle Ages.

MRS recreates the best features of the Middle Ages through meetings, workshops, symposiums and festivals, President Miranda Hvinden said.

"Each of our members finds an aspect that particularly excites or motivates them," Hvinden said.

Members explore jousting, archery, sword fighting, dancing or music. The club meets Monday nights in the Arts and Science Building.

But "almost every day in the Columbia area, there is something going on with medieval activity," Hvinden said.

Weekly activities in conjunction with the Columbia's Society for Creative Anachronism branch include sword fighting, archery practice and armory night.

Climbing Club

The Climbing Club gives climbers the chance to move from the Student Recreation Complex to the rocky outdoors.

The club meets Tuesdays at Capen Park to scale the bluffs.

"It's really close to campus," Treasurer Clarissa Starbuck said.

The group also takes climbing trips across the country. Last weekend, members went to Jackson Falls, Ill., Starbuck said.

She said the club plans to climb in Alabama over Thanksgiving break.

The Climbing Club holds fundraising competitions as well.

In September, the group played host to Boulderfest, where competitors mounted the Student Recreation Complex climbing wall and received points for the complexity of their routes.

The club hopes to hold another competition soon, Starbuck said.

Canoe and Kayak Club

The Canoe and Kayak Club takes over the lap pool at the Student Recreation Complex on Sunday nights.

"It's a way for white-water kayakers to practice their kayaking skills when the conditions aren't good outside," President Emilee Wentz said. "It's a place to go when the water's low or it's cold outside."

Beginning boaters are welcome to join as well, Wentz said.

"We'll get you used to being in a kayak," Wentz said. "It's a lot different than the recreational boats you've seen."

Members can compete in the Missouri Whitewater Championships held on the St. Francis River.

The club also sets up competitions against boating teams from the University of Missouri-Rolla and Saint Louis University.

The group takes float trips across the United States, Wentz said.

At the end of the month, the club will travel to the Nantahala River in North Carolina.

Quarter Scale Tractor Pulling Team

The Quarter Scale Tractor Pulling Team pools its knowledge of agriculture and engineering to create a functioning tractor that is one-fourth the size of a regular tractor.

President Matt Holtman said the result is a little bigger than a lawn mower.

The group meets every other Thursday to work on the tractor."Everybody's got their own thing," Holtman said. "Building, design, we've got guys on the phone looking for monetary donations."

The team will enter the Quarter Scale Student Design Competition, sponsored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, in May.

At the competition, the club will submit design plans, present its machine to a marketing team, and vie in a maneuvering competition and a tractor pull, Holtman said.

In the tractor pull, tractors pull heavy, weighted sleds across a 300-foot dirt track.

"The tractor pull is the main event that people come to see," Holtman said.

DDR Club

Combine gaming and dancing skills, and that's the MU DDR Club.

The group meets Wednesday evenings in T.A. Brady's.

Regular members and visitors alike come for DDR and a party afterward.

The club also holds tournaments, President Jeremy Howard said.

The tournaments include hours of DDR and a chance to "chill" between rounds, Howard said.

The club invites DDR enthusiasts from out of town to compete.

"Some people from University of Missouri-Kansas City come down," Howard said. "And people that go here but live in St. Louis know people there, so local players from that area come down as well, he said."

The group plans to hold a tournament in December, Howard said.

Latin Dance Club

Dancers with a Latin flair can join the Latin Dance Club.

The club meets for professional instruction in styles of Latin dance such as salsa, rumba and the cha-cha Tuesday nights in Memorial Union.

Executive board members lead additional lessons Thursday nights, President Brianna Phares said.

"I feel like, to anyone asking about Latin Dance Club, I say it's really fun," Phares said. "If you come, you'll see that the steps really aren't that hard."

In addition to classes, the club sponsors workshops with visiting instructors. This weekend, an instructor from Kansas City will present a seminar, Phares said.

Club members can also participate in dance competitions. Next week, several members will compete at Purdue University, Phares added.

Latin Dance Club also sponsors dancing events, like the upcoming Spooktacular Latin Dance Fest on Oct. 27 at Club Tropicana.

The party, a fundraiser for the club, will include dancing, a costume contest and a performance by the band Los Desterrados.

Center Stage

Center Stage is also a dancing organization that provides free dance classes to local children who otherwise cannot afford lessons.

Center Stage sponsors about 10 classes, including jazz, ballet, hip-hop and cheerleading, for kindergarteners through high school freshmen, President Amy Russell said.

About 100 students have registered so far, Russell said.

Russell said roughly 30 Center Stage members teach classes. Other members volunteer on recital and fundraising committees.

The club meets twice a month to evaluate the program.

Russell, who has participated in Center Stage for four years, said the club is both fun and rewarding.

"I taught a kindergarten ballet class my sophomore year," she said. "Two students I had performed a dance flawlessly, and I didn't have to help them. Seeing that was really exciting."