These Penn State students have a passion for anime. Hundreds will join them to celebrate.
There are any number of perks that go along with a membership to the Penn State Anime Organization — easy access to anime, for one — but for Michael Tartaglia it’s all about the people.
He was dropped onto a campus full of them his first day at University Park. Joining the anime club helped tip the ratio of perfect strangers to new friends in a more favorable direction.
“We’re a very open group. We welcome pretty much anyone,” Tartaglia said.
Rest assured, that statement carries the weight of authority behind it — Tartaglia, now in the back half of his senior year, is the organization’s president.
We’re a very open group. We welcome pretty much anyone.
Michael Tartaglia
That means he’s also a very busy guy. From Jan. 27-28, the club will host somewhere in the vicinity of 1,200 anime fans at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona for Setsucon 2018.
The annual convention will include a cosplay masquerade, the “geeky bellydancing troupe” Antipode, plus an anime music video contest. Voice actors Micah Solusod, Karen Strassman, Amber Lee Connors and Daman Mills will also make an appearance.
“It feels like running a big business instead of running a small organization,” Tartaglia said.
When they aren’t facilitating a ginormous regional anime convention, the PSAO regularly totals more than 50 active members who attend Friday Manga Nights or movies in the Freeman Auditorium or HUB Flex Theater.
“We’ve become such a great family over these last four years,” Tartaglia said.
It’s a place where I can hang out with people with similar interests to me.
Melanie Geiger
Senior Melanie Geiger joined PSAO when she touched down in University Park after a few semesters at Penn State Abington. Geiger splits time between her studies in chemical engineering and duties as the club’s treasurer.
“It’s a place where I can hang out with people with similar interests to me,” Geiger said.
Like with Tartaglia, PSAO has helped her make new social connections on campus. Geiger said anime can be misconstrued as childish and that the stigma encourages some enthusiasts to fly under the radar.
Nobody has to hide at a meeting of the Penn State Anime Organization.
“I’ve made a lot of lifelong friends here. I’ve met a lot of people that I definitely wouldn’t have met if I hadn’t joined anime club,” Geiger said.
Frank Ready: 814-231-4620, @fjready
This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 8:21 AM with the headline "These Penn State students have a passion for anime. Hundreds will join them to celebrate.."