#SAGeeks - The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The SAGeeks series is all about celebrating the geeky and nerdy sides of all of us working in higher education and student affairs. The series is edited by Jenn Osolinski and Lynne Meyer. Check out our resources page for more geeky goodness.

I'm a geek about pretty much everything - musicals, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Legend of Zelda, astronomy, physics, and a lot of other things. I have been this way since I was a child, obsessing over Pokemon and Sailor Moon. This led to me being a not so popular kid when I was in school. On top of being a geek about the aforementioned things, I was a teacher’s pet to boot and truly enjoyed learning everything I could. I didn’t have many friends, and was constantly bullied, not only for being nerdy, but for being fat. College changed all that - I found friends who had similar interests. College became a place where I began to discover who I truly was as a queer agender person - which ultimately led to me pursuing a career in Student Affairs.

Now, as a new student affairs professional who took a job in a new city after graduation, I struggled to find friends outside of my institution. In a strange twist of fate, my geekiness, in conjunction with my role as a student affairs professional, has helped me find friends, find a personal outlet outside of work, and find a way to let my geekiness shine.

My most recent geek discovery--and now nerdy obsession-- has been the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The first time I attended a live show was with a group of students who were on an outing with the Programming Board (yay discounted extra ticket!). After that first show, I kept going back, and eventually joined the cast. One of the things I love about my cast is our emphasis on equality and social justice themes - from gender and color blind casting for the shadow cast to audience participation lines that calls out racist/sexist/homophobic comments and lines. For me, being on cast is the first time outside of my job where I can be my full authentic self as a queer agender person. It's a place where I'm accepted just as I am, and have built amazing friendships outside of work. More than anything, I’m relieved to have peers outside of work. Beyond a “How’s work going?” conversation, I can unplug, relax, and have fun.

Authenticity is something I value, and I'm open with my students about my secret life as a Rocky Horror cast member. I only mention it if it’s relevant to the conversation, but if they were to ask I wouldn't deny it. My boss even came to support me on my first night playing a character (The Criminologist). It is a lot of fun when my students come to see the show - I don't think I'm the person they would expect to see on cast - and it gives us something unique to share. My cast has become my home outside of my institution and something I wouldn't trade anything in the world for.

So if you are ever in Atlanta on a Friday night - come see me at the Plaza Theater for the midnight show and let me share my nerdiness with you!

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JLP Prince serves as the Director of Community Engagement at Agnes Scott College, a private liberal arts women’s college, in Decatur, GA. They hold a B.A. in Religious and Ethical Studies and minors in International Studies, History, and Communication from Meredith College (Raleigh, NC) and a M.A. in College Student Development from Appalachian State University (Boone, NC).  JLP is a strong advocate of experiential learning within a global context and works so that all students can engage in experiential learning. They are passionate about topics surrounding social justice and equity and enjoy having dialogue around philosophy, intersectionality, and the understanding of difference.  In their free time, (in addition to Rocky Horror!) you'll find JLP hammocking outside, reading a book, singing in Agnes Scott’s Collegiate Chorale, or having a grand adventure.

Finding Yourself & Geek Identity Theory

During my first semester of graduate school, I took a course on theory development within college students.  I learned about theories grounded in career development, religious development, and personal identity development.  Within personal identity development I noticed a commonality between all the theories.  I was taught to use theory as a base knowledge to understand a student better, being able to assess where each person was on the developmental level.  As a self-named geek, I was determined to find other applicable identities for students to develop.  Here is the "Wagner Geek Identity Development Model" (WGIDM) as seen through my own development.

Stage 1: Non-geek

During this stage, students do not consider themselves to be geeky.  This was reflected during my first year of college.  My interests were of movies and not much else.  I did not have an overt affection towards video games, superheroes, or anything deemed “geeky” by society.

Stage 2: Open to Geek Culture

During this stage, students are opened up to the geek culture.  In my second year of college, a fellow resident assistant took me to a comic book store and opened my mind to my favorite superhero, Green Lantern.  This moment sparked an internal revolution into geekdom, leading into stage 3.

Stage 3: NooB

This stage is when geeks begin to make meaning of their identity.  This can be seen through a new variety of one’s Netflix qeue, frequent trips to comic book stores or GameStop, and enhanced research on the geek culture.  It is during this stage that individuals seek out groups of fellow geeks to validate their feelings and share in experiences.

Stage 4: Leroy Jenkins

During stage 4, individuals dive into the culture in an attempt to figure out what type of geek that person wants to be.  For me, that resulted in watching YouTube videos about video games, downloading podcasts about Star Trek, and buying midnight premiere movie tickets.

Stage 5: Geek Chic

This stage revolves around individuals refining the type of geek they want to be.  Folks have searched every outlet in an attempt to whittle down what geek really means to them.  I finally decided that I did not know enough of World of Warcraft to try and become a level 70 goblin, however I knew I enjoyed superheroes and video games, so I stuck to where my true passions were.

Stage 6: Live Long and Prosper

This final stage can only be accomplished when a person fully admits to their geekdom.  This stage occurs when one has accepted that they are a geek and has begun to integrate their geeky tendencies into their personal life.  I was finally able to walk into the comic book store without feeling like an outsider, using superhero inspirations for door decorations for my residents.

Obviously with this theory comes one major critique: what does it mean to be a geek?  This notion is relative for each individual person.  To someone, a geek can only refer to science fiction novels, however to others being a geek can mean they are excited about woodworking.  The term geek is open to interpretation.  My own definition is that a geek is a person that understands a topic incredibly well and has become a true passion.  No matter what the definition, this theory can serve as an opportunity for folks to assist their students in the development of their identities.

Remember, with great power comes great responsibility, so use it wisely.

Hey y'all!  My name is Julie Wagner and I am a current graduate student in my second year of the College Student Personnel program at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.  Currently I am working in Campus Activities and get to work with fantastic students and their organizations.  I began my obsessions with higher education and geek culture in the fall of 2012 and have not stopped since.  My bookshelves are equal parts graphic novels and development theory books. Connect with me on Twitter!

Book Review: The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth

"...the things that make kids bullied, ridiculed, and ostracized in high school are the same things that others will value in them after high school and will even make them valuable, productive, and simply good people."

I recently finished this amazing book. It is another in the series of geek/nerd related literature I've been digging into, like Nerds, American Nerd, & Geek Wisdom. Definitely check out my reviews for all of them too if you're interested.

This book has a unique hook that I really enjoyed. The author, Alexandra Robbins, coins the idea of "quirk theory" which defines as essentially being that the things that make kids bullied, ridiculed, and ostracized in high school are the same things that others will value in them after high school and will even make them valuable, productive, and simply good people. These would be having unique interests, being creative, and having their own beliefs that resist the influence of popular conformity. Robbins has a great quote from an article written by Walter Isaacson for Wired magazine that really sends this idea home:

'What made Einstein special was his impertinence, his nonconformity, and his distaste for dogma. Einstein's genius reminds us that society's competitive advantage comes not from teaching the multiplication or periodic tables but from nurturing rebels. Grinds have their place, but unruly geeks change the world.'

I love this sentiment. I felt the pressure to be "normal" in high school and realized that I was a nerd and that was a bad thing to the cool kids in high school. I was fine with myself before that but the cruel realities of those four years made me feel less than. Robbins goes into a lot of the reasons why high school is such a gauntlet of trials for so many students. She also tells the stories of several students from different backgrounds from all across the country over the course of a school year to showcase examples of what she is talking about throughout the book. Such topics include identity, conformity, why popular people are mean, and if being popular even makes you truly happy. The arcs that all the characters in the book go through are engaging and riveting. You go through ups and downs with all of them and their lives feel real and authentic. You get their responses to everything that happens to them and I felt compelled to keep reading to see what happened next.

Robbins goes into other surrounding topics to the subject matter of high school struggles like teachers, administrators, and parents. She gives 31 awesome actionable tips at the end for folks to takeaway, which I always appreciate. It's a light read as well, and never feels long-winded.

Much like Nerds, this book is a great overview of why anti-nerd bias exists, what perpetuates it, what it does to us, and what to do about it. I really enjoyed it, and maybe some of that comes from it resonating with me so much personally but I feel like everyone has felt a little out of place at some in their life, whether that was in high school, college, work, or even within their own family. There are valuable parcels of wisdom for any and all here.

Check out The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, and I urge you to share it with any educators, parents, or anyone who struggled with their identity in high school. I know they'll get something from it.

Thanks for stopping by!