(And That’s Ok)

Welcome to Hunter, Weeb Capital of the World

To all the incoming freshmen: Congratulations! You survived four of the weirdest, most awkward years of your life! Now that you’ve reached the promised land of college, I’m going to hit you with some hard truths. It’s still going to be awkward. Maybe even more so than before. And I’m sure many of you have also probably heard that Hunter has a reputation for being an “antisocial” community. It may feel that way — at first. Hunter is a commuter school, so there’s less of an incentive to foster a community here. But trust me, Hunter is home to possibly the nicest and most diverse student body you’ll find anywhere.

I know for me, personally, a major concern of mine was how I was going to adjust to the new social environment Hunter offered. I went from a small private school in the far off land of Staten Island, to a huge and widely diverse community of thousands in the heart of Manhattan. Within that high school — and I can imagine your high school as well — there was a social hierarchy in place.

One of the biggest reasons high school social dynamics form the way they do is the drastic culture shock due to the leap from elementary to high school. With all this change in our lives, we want some familiarity and social connection, so cliques naturally form based on interests, nationalities, and other common traits. This is also coupled with the fact that we’re growing rapidly and coming into our own in high school. It’s natural for us to seek out comfort in those around to keep us grounded as we grow and are insecure about ourselves.

But now that we’ve moved past that stage, we’re willing to embrace our passions and who we really are. I was an introverted guy who loved comics and video games in a sports dominated school. At times I felt the need to water my interests and myself down to fit into the school’s social hierarchy. When it got me down, I would find comfort in the fact that the social landscape would be completely different in college. Once I had arrived at Hunter, I fortunately found out that I was right. For those who have a passion for nerdy things like comics and video games, Hunter is the place to be.

Hunter’s community is possibly one of the geekiest out there and I encourage you to explore it. We’ve got tons of clubs dedicated to this stuff like the Fighting Game Association, the LARP (Live Action Role playing) Club, and our very own on-campus comic book imprint, “The Hunted Hero”. When the newest Super Smash Bros. and Pokémon games dropped last year, the productivity levels at Hunter plummeted and everyone was out in the hallways playing them. And you can BEST believe it’s going to be the exact same situation once Pokémon Sun and Moon drop this November. Almost every time I go into the Student Resource Center to use one of the computers, there is at least one person using one to watch anime or read manga. To add to that, you can always find at least one person on every floor of the library catching up on their anime. I’ve actually met some of my closest friends here because I was wearing a comic book shirt or I had an anime pin on my bag and they started up a conversation with me.

Over 2000 people showed up one day in Sydney, Australia to play Pokemon Go during a game convention.

With the rise in “geek” culture over the past decade or so, it’s almost impossible to avoid the ubiquitous effects it’s had on our society. Superhero and Sci-Fi movies make millions worldwide and set the pace for the industry. Television channels are dominated by shows based on comic books. “Pokémon Go” is the highest grossing app in history. It’s been a slow process, but geek culture has made its way to the forefront of our social conscious. You’ve all seen at least one superhero movie in your lifetime and I’m sure you’ve all logged in tons of hours on “Pokémon Go” over the summer. All of this is inescapable unless you decide to start living under a rock and it isn’t going away anytime soon.

With geek culture as universal as it is now, and college students being more comfortable with themselves, now is the perfect time to embrace your nerdy passions. When’s the next time you’re going to be in a building with thousands of fans like yourself besides Comic Con? This philosophy also applies to pretty much every other hobby and interest out there, not just nerd things. Hunter caters to every interest you could possibly imagine from politics to sports. You’ll find a vibrant community in Hunter around all those other interests. Embrace it, go out there, start a conversation. You’ll find you have more in common with your new classmates than you thought.

So to all you incoming nerd freshmen, Hunter or not, don’t worry. You’re in good hands.