A sword. A shield. Archery gear. They’re not exactly what most would consider essential supplies for college life, but for some students at EIU they’re every bit as important as textbooks, pens, and a dependable laptop.
Those students are the members of Eastern’s Belegarth RSO. Maybe you’ve seen them on the library quad or in McAfee Gym, practicing hand-to-hand combat with nonlethal versions of medieval weaponry. It’s known as live action role-playing or LARPing, and Eastern is home to an enthusiastic community of students — like Iulia Ionescu in the video above — who love it.
It’s part of what makes Eastern Illinois University great: No matter what your interests may be, there’s probably one (or more) of our dozens of registered student organizations in which you can join a community of other like-minded students. And if there isn’t, you can get one started … just like our LARPers did!
