Witchcraft and wizardry have charmed the Seton Hall community.
The New Jersey State Representative for the International Quidditch Association, Marina Montenegro, has joined magical forces with students Daniel Britt, Corey Kientz and Marisa Murray to run the first Harry Potter Club on campus.
"I run the South Orange Quidditch team, the Horn Tailed Horcruxes, and a lot of Seton Hall students are on the team," Montenegro said. "We talked a lot about doing other fun events that weren't for quidditch, and by the end of the year we thought it'd be fun to start a club." Montenegro, Britt, Kientz and Murray respectively make up the club's e-board as Headmistress (president), Deputy Headmaster (vice president), Professor of Arithmancy (treasurer), and Professor of Ancient Ruins (secretary).
"There are roles for the club members too," she said. "Hous- es have head boys and head girls, which help the heads of houses to set up things or to run a program."
The club has already hosted its first program, the Sorting Ceremony, where it sorted its members into one of four Hogwarts houses including Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. "Sorting" is a well-known event in the Harry Potter series.
"We have monthly meetings where we discuss, plan, and organize upcoming events," Montenegro said. "We also have another set of leaders, our heads of houses. "The heads of houses make sure the members of their houses feel included with things."
Future activities of the club include plans for a Yule Ball, which is a large dance-party in January, and the Tri-Wizard tournament, a three-part contest among houses.
Although the club attracts Harry Potter fans, Montenegro says fans of Doctor Who, Supernatural and Sherlock Holmes, among others, are interested.
"We're really looking for the wizardry students, but muggles are welcome, too," Montenegro said. "In all seriousness, we are open to all students but we're one of the very few 'nerd' clubs on campus. This doesn't go for everyone, but you'll find people have a lot more in common than just Harry Potter."
The club attracted attention at the Involvement Fair. "We've had 107 people sign up, and I am absolutely blown away," Montenegro said.
For students interested in the magical realm of Hogwarts, the Harry Potter Club will run its next program on at noon Oct. 18 in the Fahy Hall Room 101.
Natalie Rebisz can be reached at natalie.rebisz@student.shu.edu.
