Merriam-Webster defines geek as either someone who bites the heads off chickens or “a person often of an intellectual bent who is disapproved of.”Geeks see themselves differently.
Geeks are just people who love, or possibly obsess over, comics, anime, and other features of sci-fi subculture. Not everyone who loves these things is a socially inept, hygiene-challenged male, either.
Mae Kalwaic is the biggest geek I know.
Mae, a senior majoring in psychology and political science, is a charismatic leader who has won awards at Guilford for achievements as vice-president of Choir and as the president of Binford. She applies her skills most fully to her true passion.
President and founder of the Yachting club, the school’s only sci-fi interest group, Mae filled an absence and created a legacy for Guilford geeks.
“When I was looking for a school, I wanted a place that had two things: radio and a geek club;” said Mae. Though WQFS met her approval, Mae was concerned about the lack of open geekiness on campus.
The stigma associated with role-playing and comics prompts many geeks to hide their interests.
“I could smell the geeks in the closet,” she said.
Mae is different. “I’m proud to be a geek,” she said.
Mae started small. Freshman year, she outed a few geeks on her hall. By sophomore year she had gained some converts, including me.
After enticing us into a small role-playing game, she still wasn’t satisfied. Mae knew she wasn’t reaching everyone.
Last year, Mae began planning an official organization for Guilford geeks.
Senate was skeptical. They expressed doubts that sufficient interest existed and objected to the whimsical name.
“One senator said it sounded too much like a group of friends getting together with similar interests,” she said. “Isn’t that what a club is?”
When 10 potential members appeared at the steering committee meeting, doubts subsided. In spring of 2001, the Yachting Club was born.
The club is active and growing after a year, with about 30 members attending each meeting. Mae estimates the club sponsors about four activities per week, supported by its reception this year of the Dyer Award for Most Active New Club.
Sadly, Mae is graduating and the future is uncertain.
“I’m kind of afraid for the Yachting Club when she leaves because we’re going to lose that unstoppable force that is Mae” said first-year Taleisha Brown.
Others can lead, but not everyone is a geek role-model.