Written by Tiana Chrans|
Anime Club is just one of the many wonderful clubs offered here at Morgan. Run by Senior Tim Matthieu, it is a social club for members of the Morgan community who share an affection for Anime . Junior Miranda Hollifield said, “My favorite part is the social aspect, being able to hang out with people who share the same interests as you and get to hang out and play games.” Junior member Jensen Garcia agreed and added that she enjoys the unique personalities of everyone in the club.
On Friday, March 25, the Anime Club took a field trip to the Anime Boston Convention, the first field trip the club has ever taken. The trip was planned, for the most part, by club members Juniors Meredith Reynolds, Jensen Garcia, and Miranda Hollifield, and Anime Club Advisor and World Language teacher Mrs. Barrett, who have been trying to set up this field trip for the club for three years now. The club ultimately thought this year would be the best to go because many of the original members of the club will be graduating this year. “We thought it would be a great experience for them to be able to go out and see another aspect of Anime Club.” Junior Meredith Reynolds said.
The members of Anime Club spent many months planning for this convention, along with their anticipation to create and show off their costumes at the event. At Anime Boston, the club members get to enjoy all of their favorite Anime’s and have a great social experience with other people who love the same things they do, “Everyone’s dressed up in costume; there’s all sorts of vendors, all sorts of anime stuff. We can watch costume competitions and watch anime. It’s just a fun social gathering to walk around and see stuff.” Miranda added.
The tickets stand at a pricey $60 and the food there is expensive, with additional costs for purchases at the venue so all together, the cost comes out very high, “People have tried to do this previously, and this is the first time we actually succeeded on going so when they found out we were actually going, some teachers and parents helped fund the trip,” Jensen Garcia stated. One of the parents, Mike Pendleton, arranged a bus for the students to transport straight to Boston and back home for only $18 per student.
Although there was assistance from teachers and parents, the students did most of the fundraising themselves and spent a long time saving money for this trip. The Gary Baier Foundation through the Clinton Education Foundation helped provide funding as well. The Gary Baier Foundation created in memory of Physics teacher Gary Baier provides money to teachers to offset the high cost of field trips for students who cannot afford it. “We are very grateful that these people helped us and helped fund us. It is a really neat experience, and I’m really glad that they agreed to help us.” Meredith added, recognizing the people that made this trip possible for them.