“In the Club” is a series that showcases some of the 230+ recognized student organizations at TCNJ. Want to have your club featured? Drop a line to tcnjtoday@tcnj.edu to be considered for a future story.
Order of the Nose-Biting Teacups — it’s the TCNJ club with a funny name, but any Harry Potter fan will delight in the reference. (Spoiler alert: in the books and movies, enchanted teacups are known to randomly nip the noses of those who sip from them.)
As part of the official Harry Potter fan club at TCNJ, members of ONBT are enjoying the fall season of tricks and treats. With a potions night, transfiguration crafts event, and a Death Day Halloween party (costumes encouraged, but they don’t have to be Harry, Ron, or Voldemort inspired), the club embraces and celebrates all things wizards, witches, and magical creatures.
For club publicist Dana Laissle ’25, the fact that the college had a Harry Potter club helped seal the deal for her to choose to come to TCNJ in the first place.
“I learned about it on a visit,” she says. “And I wouldn’t say that is why I came here, but it definitely helped. I knew I could find people here with common interests.”
But, you don’t have to be a superfan to attend. Julio Palma ’25, who is also a member of the tennis club and debate team, was drawn to the competitive nature of the club. Like the characters in the books and movies, members of the club are sorted into “houses” and the various houses earn points for different activities they compete in throughout the year. Palma says he learned about the club freshman year at the student involvement fair.
“I saw the movies, and the club sounded like a lot of fun,” he says. He got involved, and now he is ONBT’s president.
Most meetings feature a craft or activity relating to Harry Potter and each semester they plan an off-campus trip. For example, they will be going to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway in November.
If you need to get your nose out of the books and relax a bit as the semester winds down, check out ONBT on Instagram @tcnj_onbt.
— Kara Pothier MAT ’08