Kean Esports Club – A Home For All Kean Gamers

By Andrey Nalbantov | Published by November 16, 2021

Competitive as well as casual gamer students can unite and be part of Kean University’s esports club.

With so many Kean students coming back to campus, the esports club provides a great medium for many to relax in between classes, or potentially find a new “stage” to showcase their gaming abilities.

Kean students who take their gaming skills seriously and have high ambitions are free to apply by filling out the “Competitive Student Form” on the Kean University Esports website. While casual gamers are welcome to attend meetings and watch the team perform, Kean Esports club Vice President Amy Yang said. 

Other than completing the form, every student that desires to be a part of the club should complete a series of mandatory requirements.

 “A student must attend two General Board Meetings(GBM) to be a member, and try out for a competition every semester,” Yang said.

The club is equipped with numerous gaming computers and a collection of consoles from different companies – such as PS4’s, Xbox Ones, and Nintendo Switches. The club is also working hard on acquiring both new(PS5, Xbox Series X) and classic consoles(PS2) too.

Kean Esports club focuses on various video games including Electronic Arts’ sports simulators “FIFA” and “Madden”, Riot Games’ “League of Legends” and “Valorant”, and Epic Games’ “Fortnite.”

While students who are listed as part of the club’s roster are allowed to use the establishment and its devices, casual gamers can use the free seating area provided to watch or use their gaming systems to play.

It is worth noting that most of the club board are female. And even though the gender ratio is 1:2 female to male, the club is a safe space for everyone regardless of gender, race, and sexuality. This information can be very important for female students that are afraid to commit to a gaming-centered club, because of how toxic the gamers community can be to them, such as in the case with Blizzard. Reminding how the high-profile video game developer was on the aim of multiple lawsuits resulting from the toxic work environment, and sexual harassment towards female employees.

Every representative of the club should follow certain rules during tournaments and meetings. While there are different games played at the club, the majority of the rules for them remain the same. On the top of the list are good sportsmanship and no quarrels between members.

According to the executive board President Victoria Cartieri, cursing is an inevitable part of the gaming process but members are advised to keep it to a minimum.

 “Pretend like your mom is in the room,” Cartieri said, addressing the potential use of curse words.

Kean esports also provided numerous dates of matches between members of the club. The dates of the events can be viewed in the “Match Schedule” section on the official website of the club(https://www.keanesports.com/home). Participants in those events will have the chance to win rewards as well.

Now come the questions. Would the club attract the interest of students around campus? Would it live up to the standards set by other universities in the esports community?

For more information about Kean University’s esports club, students should look forward to the next episode of TowerTalk.

---