Alex Hodges, Campus Carrier Arts & Living Editor
The Berry College Alternate Realities Club (BCAR) is an organization that provides an outlet for students interested in science fiction, fantasy and animation and enables others to learn about these topics. This, according to Berry’s website, is the essence of BCAR, but it is much more than that.
Junior Ashlyn Sharpe, secretary for the club, said that the purpose of the club is to create a fun, creative atmosphere for people with common interests. She mentioned topics ranging from video games, television and movies to books, comics and even Dungeons and Dragons (DnD).
“A lot of people may call BCAR something like a ‘nerd club,’ but whatever you want to call it, it’s a great opportunity to be expressive and inventive,” Sharpe said.
The club has about 30 consistent members, according to Sharpe, but that number increases every fall semester with efforts to create a haunted house in October.
Their biggest event on campus is this annual haunted house, which has a different theme each year and always has a large turnout of students. Members spend most of the fall semester working on the haunted house, and they have numerous helping hands with different specialties come together for preparations like acting, set design, costume creation, makeup and behind the scenes work, according to Sharpe.
Following the haunted house is a tradition of the club’s, in which members head to Waffle House in their seasonal attire.
“We typically leave on any weird costumes and makeup, to an extent, just to round out the evening the best way we know how,” Sharpe said.
BCAR hosts other events, such as movie viewings, table-top game nights and video game tournaments, most commonly Smash Tournaments that have become popular among students. There is one such tournament coming up on March 1 in the Sandbox at 2 p.m. There will be snacks and games, as well as the tournament for students to enter.
Also coming up is a film festival, hosted by BCAR, in McAllister auditorium on March 29. Anyone is welcome to submit material for the festival. Short film submissions are due by March 18 to be entered to win an award.
Sharpe works with Co-presidents junior Davis Murphy and sophomore Bryan Chamberlain, as well as Vice President freshman Evan Fennell in a collaborative effort to make things go smoothly.
“BCAR has been a cool way for students with similar interests to unite and have fun,” Murphy said.
Murphy does a lot to make sure that students stay interested in what the club is doing. He helps run events, organizes teams for the haunted house project and he keeps weekly meetings fun for attendees.
One of the main duties of the officers, according to Murphy, is working together to come up with ideas and to support other members when they want to try something new.
“Our members come from lots of different backgrounds and majors to just come together and to make friends and find people who are into similar things,” Sharpe said. “We’ve found the club to be a major hub for making new friends, finding people to start new ideas and trying new things.”