WatSFiC is marking its half a century through events that reflect the club’s history. “That was a lot of fun doing a lot of the games and watching movies across the past 50 years,” Jaycob Liinamaa, club’s promotional director, shared. Liinamaa has been a member since May 2023 and has held multiple executive roles, including webmaster, president, and promotional director. He is currently serving as pagemaster following his graduation to help complete the Star Songs, a club fanzine revival project.

WatSFiC was founded on Jan. 13, 1976. It initially focused on activities such as movie night hostings and occasional war gaming sessions. However, a key shift came in the late 1970s as tabletop role-playing games became part of the club’s core activities. According to Liinamaa, the club began hosting Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) sessions on May 19, 1978, followed by its first tournament on November 3 of that year, which had 22 entrants and over the years, it grew to as many as 15 teams of 6 in attendance.

As the club expanded, it incorporated a wider range of activities. “We ended up adopting Magic: The Gathering, a live action role-playing (LARP) game, also known as Waterloo by Night. Humans vs. Zombies was originally a part of our club,” Liinamaa shared. The club also maintained a large shared resource collection. “Our library ended up growing to over 1,600 books before the university got rid of the club’s library and we were forced to sell most of them off,” he said, adding that “a good chunk of that collection was rare and collectible books.” The collection was previously housed in the Student Life Centre (SLC), where WatSFiC was a major contributor, and the club had earlier shared space with the Math Society. Today, however, WatSFiC no longer has a permanent headquarters, as that has been repurposed as office space and instead the club books rooms each term for meetings, most often in the Mathematics and Computer building. 

While these elements reflect earlier stages of the club’s development, WatSFiC has since shifted toward a broader and more flexible structure. “It’s really just been more multifaceted than singularly focused,” Liinamaa said. Today, the club runs a mix of recurring and one-time events throughout each academic term, beginning with initiatives designed to build community. At the start of the term, WatSFiC typically hosts a bonfire social to encourage informal interaction among members. This is followed by an introductory one-shot event aimed at new participants, where students can learn the basics of D&D. From there, the club’s programming expands into a range of activities that cater to different interests and experience levels. These include war gaming sessions such as Trench Crusade and Kill Team, as well as efforts to introduce members to the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game. Skill-based and workshop-style events are also part of the schedule, including mini painting nights where members are provided with materials and guided through basic techniques.

In addition to regular programming, the club organizes larger and more specialized events. These include themed gatherings and extended gameplay formats, such as a 24-hour marathon consisting of six back-to-back four-hour D&D sessions. Creative engagement is incorporated through competitions, including a short story contest in which participants write based on a set of prompts, with word limits varying depending on the organizers. A miniature painting contest is also held, where entries are judged by popular vote.

Beyond its internal programming, WatSFiC is also involved in collaborative initiatives across campus. One such example is the Tabletop Tavern, which brings together communities centred around games such as Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon, and board games. While Magic: The Gathering operates within WatSFiC, it functions largely independently and has newer collaborations. 

The club’s current structure has also been shaped by disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some activities, particularly LARP, have not fully returned to their previous format. “Before COVID, the LARP was really a bi-weekly thing… but because that interest died over COVID, we had to try and get it back with just one-off events,” Liinamaa said. He noted that rebuilding participation has been challenging, especially given the complexity of the format.

Membership levels vary by term, but the club maintains a consistent base. According to Liinamaa, the club sees around 60 active members over the course of a year. Weekly attendance typically averages around 20 participants, with an increase to approximately 30 for larger events. Introductory sessions tend to draw the highest turnout. “For one-shot events… we get upwards of 60 people,” he added, though many attend only temporarily. The club operates under an executive structure with the four roles required by WUSA – president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary; alongside additional positions such as Master of Tournaments (TTRPG events), Master of Events (non-TTRPG events), Warmaster (wargaming), Pagemaster (book club and arts), promotional director, and webmaster. The executive team typically meets weekly before Saturday events, and these meetings are open to members.

Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli currently dominate the popular consciousness when it comes to mainstream animated films. But did you know plenty of other masterpieces can be found outside the big-name studios? Here are a few lesser-known animated films to check out, spanning not only multiple countries but art styles and themes:

Persepolis

Release Year: 2007 (France)

Runtime: 96 minutes

TW: self-harm, violence, war, political unrest, sexual content

Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis is an autobiographical novel that details Satrapi’s childhood and early adulthood. From the Iranian Revolution during her childhood, to her relationships while studying abroad in Austria and then her struggles with depression before her return back to Iran, the film covers the ups and downs of her life set against the backdrop of her changing identity as an Iranian woman. Just like the graphic novel, the film is entirely animated in black and white, aside from its rare and intentional use of colour in certain scenes.

The Illusionist

(Original Title: “L’Illusioniste”)

Release Year: 2010 (France)

Runtime: 79 minutes

When time, trends and technology march on, what happens to art and our sense of wonder? Inspired by an unrealized script by French actor and filmmaker Jacques Tati, this movie spotlights the titular illusionist, reliant on traditional magic tricks as he searches for work across 1959 Europe, while modern entertainment like rock ‘n’ roll bands and movies begin to dominate society. Interwoven with his travels is a touching father-daughter story about the preservation (and loss) of innocence, the relevance of art in modern times, and what it means to believe in magic. This film is also mostly dialogue-free with the narratives carried by subtle visuals and music, so this is a great piece when you’re in the mood for something more lowkey and a little solemn.

Loving Vincent

Released 2017 (Poland, UK)

Runtime: 94 minutes

With all 650,000 frames painstakingly hand painted by oil painters rather than animators, Loving Vincent is the first fully hand painted feature film, telling the story of how the titular Vincent Van Gogh met his demise. The movie uncovers his relationships with close friends and family as the protagonist, a postman’s son, seeks to deliver Vincent’s last letter to his beloved brother Theo. This film won the Audience Award and earned a ten-minute standing ovation during its debut at the 2017 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

Song of the Sea

Released: 2014 (Ireland)

Runtime: 94 minutes

If you want a heartwarming comfort film that features Irish folklore, this movie is for you. Siblings Ben and Saoirse live with their father, grief-stricken years after their selkie mother Bronagh disappeared into the sea during Saoirse’s birth. When Saorise discovers her mother’s sealskin, the two children enter a magical world filled with creatures from Irish mythology to discover the secret behind their mother’s disappearance and repair their fragmented relationship with each other and the rest of their family.

For each month of the spring term, I will introduce a primary ingredient and illustrate its capabilities through a key dish. For May, the ingredient of the month is… sugar! Sugars come in various forms; however, this month will focus on crystallised refined sugar. These types of sugar are your typical white, brown and dark brown sugars. These sugars are perfect for drawing moisture out of foods, enhancing flavour. Additionally, sugars are also used as thickening agents, where the sugar acts as a “thickener” by breaking down into glucose and fructose. In other words, sugar is the go-to ingredient for when you need to enhance sweet flavours or caramelisation (i.e. the thickening process). 

For this month, a strawberry rhubarb compote is the perfect dish to illustrate these two characteristics. This compote captures the sugar’s ability to draw moisture and enhance the flavours of the fruits. The sugar is used to thicken the mixture into a compote consistency. With that, I hope you enjoy this recipe and learn a bit about how sugar performs!

Tools: 

Large mixing bowl 

Spatula or mixing spoon 

Large mason jar or airtight container 

Cooking pot

Ingredients: 

1⅓ cups of quartered or diced strawberries

1¾ cups of thinly sliced rhubarb 

¼ – ½ cup of sugar (optional: white, brown, etc.) 

2 tbsp of filtered water

2 tsp of vanilla extract 

A pinch of salt 

Instructions:

1. Thoroughly clean the strawberries and rhubarb and pat dry with a paper towel. 
2. Quarter or dice your strawberries depending on your preference for texture. Personally, I prefer quarters as they provide more texture. Then, thinly slice the rhubarb.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb and sugar, and let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes. During this time, the sugar will draw the moisture out of the fruits to produce more juice that will further thicken the mixture. 
4. At medium heat, cook the mixture for 15-20 minutes or until the strawberries and rhubarb have softened. Once softened, add the vanilla extract, water and salt.
5. Let the mixture completely cool and store the compote in a large mason jar or an airtight container.