Morse Con gathered for the third time Monday in Schillinger Lounge in Morse Complex, inviting residents to play games or discuss hobbies and express their passions. The event was hosted by Elijah Schraad, founder of Morse Con and senior art education major.

Morse Con began as a discussion between Schraad and a friend while sharing their passion about Marvel and DC comics.

“We had the idea it’d be really cool if we could gather together and do this all the time,” Schraad said. “You see these people’s passions for these subjects and it sparks an interest in your own life.”

Schraad comes to the event with nothing planned, choosing to let those who arrive decide what activities they will engage in.

“I have no idea what to expect,” Schraad said. “Just get the people there and see what they wanna do.”

Activities have varied over the various meetings because of this freeform style.

“First meeting there was a lot of magic the gathering, second one we all made character sheets for pathfinder,” said Dorlyn Estabrooks, sophomore art education major. “Each one is centered around a different element of nerd culture.”

As a resident assistant in Morse Complex, Schraad is tasked with coordinating a monthly complex program, according to Kayla Smith, Morse complex coordinator. The program, called Once Every Month, reflects something of interest to the RA hosting it.

“Morse Con is Eli’s monthly program which he selected because it includes games and topics that he enjoys,” Smith said. 

Five students participated in Monday’s gathering, roughly half that of previous meetings, according to Estabrooks.

“If it was bigger we’d have the opportunity to do more things at once,” Estabrooks said. “Right now, with only a handful of people, we all only do one thing.”

Schraad considers hosting Morse Con outside the residence hall, in order to draw larger gatherings.

“Next semester I want to keep it going (and) expand it more,” Schraad said. “It doesn’t have to be a once a month thing.”

Another inspiration for Morse Con was the recently vacated Toy Store that used to be in the Memorial Union, according to Schraad.

“Last year we had the toy store in MU and there was a bunch of people who always gathered right outside to play games,” Schraad said.

After it closed, the gaming community it drew dispersed.

“I want an area for us to be able to join together and have that safe space,” Schraad said.