Sci-Fi/Fantasy Hall
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall is a now-venerable ResEd theme hall. Founded in 2002, the hall is now ten years old, and is the oldest and largest theme hall on campus.
[edit] History
Once upon a time, lived on the fourth floor of Noah. The original founders discovered that their own brand of nerdiness was unique even at Oberlin and decided to take advantage of that nerdiness. (Started in fall of 2002, this hall pre-dated the major part of Harry Potter craziness and definitely was nowhere near Twilight age.) More Fantasy than Sci-Fi based to start, the group once celebrated Towel Day together, decorated everything in magical things and had movie nights with Princess Bride, Anime, Star Wars, etc. Magic and RPG (including a long running LARP) also became loosely associated with the hall as OGRE became vibrant again and MATRIX found a home downtown (now Infinite Monkey) with the renewal of nerddom.
Original members of the Hall included Co-Founders Katy Hedges-Goettl (Stenta) & Rebecca Ganetzky, Alex Vickery, Mark Stone, Chloe Liotta-Jones, Anya Slaven, Brendan Kelley, Emily Roberts (McClain), Michael Gaare, Joe Maiville, Glenn Lacki, Chris Banco, Fae Edwards(-Miller), Aaron Miller and the triplets already in residence Howard Klienman, Peter Ingraham, Jon Argaman, very quickly honorary members joined the cadre as it grew.
In 2007, the hall moved to the second floor of Langston, Wilkins wing. The hall has grown so popular that the Jewett and Shaw wings of the second floor have also been incorperated. These halls are known as Huffleslut (Jewett), Gryffinwhore (Shaw), and Gayvenclaw (or Loud Hall, or Clyde; Wilkins). Non-resident associates are said to be part of House Snakedick.
[edit] Activities and Culture
Hall once shared a large percentage of its membership with OGRE. OGRE is now a defunct organization, but gaming is still an important part of SciFi Hall. Long time resident Jackson Kent is a prolific DM who leads at least two D&D campaigns on hall every semester. Magic and Pokemon are both common, as are video games of every genre.
Anime screenings happen often, with Giant Robot Night being a weekly event. Also on the calendar is Gay Movie Night, a weekly screening of an LGBTQ* themed film. Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Avatar: The Legend of Korra are also screened on hall during their active seasons.
SciFi Hall occasionally organizes events that attempt to spread their nerddom to the rest of Oberlin, such as hosting a Lord of the Rings marathon or busing people to Cleveland to see Neil Gaiman. Hall is also one of the few theme halls to interact with others of its kind, leading raids on Classics Hall, DIY Hall and Russian House, just to name a few. SciFi Hall, Classics Hall, Transfer Hall, and Russian House are in an official alliance as of the 2011-12 school year. Their sworn enemy is Sustainability Hall, though Sustainability Hall probably doesn't know that yet.
The most holy day on their calendar is Squidmas, a semesterly holiday in honor of the great Squid which gives us all life, the internet, and electric violence. SciFi Hallers have been known to speak a language all their own, with frequent uses of internet memes, quotes from nerdy films and books, and a healthy dash of the word 'tacos.'
[edit] Residents and Alumni
Notable recent residents, associates, and alumni (also known as 'residents, associates, and alumni with OberWiki pages') include Mike Rauscher, Daniel Dudley, Emily Asp, E.S. Milner, Jackson Kent, and Carolyn Michaels
One of the originators of the hall, Charles Baker, now owns the local gaming shop Infinite Monkey. Brendon Kelley runs crazy politics nearby and Joe Maiville haunts the public library by day and plays the music scene at night.
Go visit them sometime. You'll laugh your ass off.
