Jenarita Plante
Anchor Staff Writer
I find the new series “House of the Dragon” mysterious and entertaining. The plot has continued to thicken and the entertainment value has only grown. Those same thoughts are shared by others on the RIC campus. Case and point, Sgt. James Torres from the Student Veterans of America at RIC is hosting weekly watch parties for the show.
“The Student Veterans of America at RIC just wanted students to have a place where they could relax and unwind from the everyday grind of studying and homework,” Torres told The Anchor. “We believe a night of watching a movie or a show with friends in a safe environment can help de-stress everyone. We as Veterans know that having something to de-stress us outside of the mission is not only critical to mission success, academically speaking, but it can recharge a person and get them back into the ebb and flow of their studies.”
These watch parties, which are free to attend, take place Wednesday nights from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m in the Student Union Ballroom. Snacks will be provided. For the time being, it is recommended that students purchase their own refreshments at the Beestro, located on the first floor in the Student Union.
“Even though we finish well before 10 pm, we are hoping that students will stay a bit after the shows and interact with each other to discuss the week's showings amongst themselves and building friendships along the way,” Torres added.
In a school year that’s seeing events come back after two years of COVID, events like this benefit the RIC community in a number of ways, such as bridging the gap between traditional students, non-traditional students and student veterans.
Torres agrees, saying, “A student veteran can give a traditional RIC student a wealth of information, share life experiences, and vice versa. We are currently in a historical time at RIC where there are a multitude of generations [such as] Gen-X, Gen-Z, Millennials, etc. attending college at the same time. These sorts of events are aimed at providing inclusivity and developing mutual respect for someone in their 40’s to find common ground with someone who is 23 years old or even fresh out of high school.”
I identified so much with this response. It has been twelve years since I was an undergraduate student. Now that I am 34 and working on my Masters, I often wonder what I have in common with others on campus. Torres, like myself, enjoys the show.
“Oh man, where do I begin? I have always been a Fantasy genre fan. [I’m] the type of person who re-watches episodes to see if there were any easter eggs, catch something I missed, and to dissect the episodes,” he said. “I had my reservations about the pace of the story, with all the time skips. But, after rewatching them again it made sense to shoot it the way the directors did. Being a huge fan of the “Game of Thrones” series, I [don’t] want to give away any spoilers for anyone who has not joined us yet. But it is extremely exciting to say the least.”
I at first was hesitant about the pace of the show, too, considering the major time skips. But as a fan of “Game of Thrones,” and knowing just what this prequel is really about, they make total sense and are very well done. If you like the Fantasy genre, you are apt to really like “House of the Dragon.”
Torres hopes to do more watch parties and events in the future if all goes well.
He said, “Hopefully if it is successful, we will move on to have “The Witcher” watch parties, “Marvel Universe” movie watch parties, in order of precedence, and move on to something else that RIC students are interested in watching. The SVA at RIC is [committed] to helping other organizations and is more than willing to do Co-Ops with other student organizations and clubs.”
Alongside Wednesday’s watch parties, Torres and the SVA are organizing several events and giveaways for the RIC community this year.
“We have a few other events that we host such as our “Come Out and Join Us” bi-weekly hikes which are organized by our Director of Public Relations, Steven J. Pina,” Torres said. “Next semester our Vice- President Christopher Fordham wants to start a “Self Defense” class, and many other projects in the making. We also have some Co-Ops that will be coming up soon, one being a “Fundraising Chess Tournament” that we are working on with Carlos D. Polanco, President of the Rhode Island College Chess Club so be on the lookout for that. Our Secretary- Kristen T. Diaz and our Treasurer- Olivia Genesse also have some projects in the works. We will also be raffling off an “1-UP Arcade Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition” soon.”
These watch parties give students an opportunity to not only get to know other members of the RIC community, but also could create new friendships.
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