By: Charlotte Reilly
The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Cardboard Club is all fun and games—all of the time.
No, they don’t create box forts or recycle Amazon packages. Members play card and board games every other Tuesday in Mammel Hall from 8 to 10 p.m.
Cardboard Club was established in 2018 by College of Business Administration (CBA) Scholars Academy member Megan Henderson. Members of the CBA Scholars Academy are required to be involved in a non-CBA related organization, but Henderson couldn’t find a club she wanted to join.
“I asked my friends, ‘What if we started our own club?’ We all started talking about our interests and settled on card and board games,” she said.
Henderson was worried it would be difficult to make the club official but said UNO’s process is surprisingly easy.
First, she decided on her executive board: Henderson (president), Sam McDermott (vice president), Rachel Braider (vice president of public relations), Matthew Smith (vice president of member services) and Christian Hanus (vice president of game acquisition).
The board members worked together to create the club’s constitution and choose its advisor, Librarian Tammi Owens.
Word of the club spread quickly, and it now has about 60 members on Engage. Twenty to 30 people come to each meeting, Henderson said.
“I created posters and fliers, but it was really word of mouth that drew people in because students need laid-back distractions from work and homework,” Braider said.
It is one of the few clubs hosted on Scott Campus and brings together people from a variety of backgrounds: business, athletics, computer science, advertising, etc.
“I enjoy the diversity of the club,” Hanus said. “It is really cool to see everyone come together and enjoy each other’s company.”
Last semester, Aksarben Cinema hosted a meeting at the theater. The cinema provided games and snacks for the members.
“It was great to see people outside of the UNO community interested in our club,” Henderson
said. “None of us were expecting them to reach out, so we were all excited.”
She plans to have more meetings at Aksarben Cinema this semester and hopes to partner with Spielbound Café in the future.
The club has become much more than a requirement fulfillment for Henderson.
“While it satisfies the requirements of being involved, it also is really fun and worth going,” she said. “Whether it is knowing someone in class on the first day or having study buddies, the connections you make while casually playing a card or board game are important.”
