If you’re a die-hard Harry Potter fan or even just a fan of magic and fiction, Dumbledore’s Army at ASU is the perfect combination of fun and fantasy.
Dumbledore’s Army was started in 2010 and aims to bring the "Harry Potter" books and movies to life.
English literature senior Morgan Fitkin is now the president of Dumbledore’s Army and has been in it for four years. She said she joined after finding the club at the Passport ASU event her freshman year.
“I got into one of the back rooms and kind of stumbled upon their table,” Fitkin said. “I said ‘Is this a Harry Potter club? That’s so cool!’”
Fitkin first became interested in Harry Potter when she was about 10 years old. She said she fell in love with the club at ASU, and it is the only one she is regularly attending since the beginning of her college career.
“Everyone’s friends with each other and not just at the meetings,” Fitkin said. “Almost all of my college friends came from being in the club.”
(Photo courtesy of Morgan Fitkin)At club meetings, students recreate elements of J.K Rowling’s novels with activities like wand making, or potion lessons. Dumbledore’s Army members also have trivia nights, murder mysteries and book discussions, as well as participate in other programs at ASU like MU After Dark and the Sun Devil Fan Fair.
Fitkin said the club aims to host a least two events per semester.
“We do our best to try to do things that appear to be magic,” Fitkin said. “Things like potion lessons take a little more planning because we don’t want to just use Mentos and Coke, we want to do things people haven’t seen before.”
Fitkin said she hopes to host more community outreach events and branch out from the Tempe campus.
Dumbledore’s Army is so popular that even students who no longer study at ASU continue to attend the meetings.
Fitkin said the club welcomes students from all campuses and all levels of Harry Potter knowledge.
“Lots of (the members) have only seen some of the movies and some are just friends who come along,” she said. “None of the activities except the trivia are heavily reliant on excessive Harry Potter knowledge. We’re a really friendly group, and we have fun.”
The Sun Devil Fan Fair is a free event that will be held on April 19 and is open to the public. Dumbledore’s Army will be co-hosting the event, which is similar to Comic-Con, at ASU.
Meetings for Dumbledore’s Army are held at 6 p.m. every Friday and there are about 35 members who come every week. To join and for more information go to https://www.facebook.com/asudumbledoresarmy or search for Dumbledore’s Army on Orgsync.com.
Reach the reporter at bridget.dowd@asu.eduor follow @bridgetbernice on Twitter
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