Emily Ambery | staff writer
Dec. 2, 2021
A group of Duquesne students are ready to take history outside of learning facts in a textbook and lectures, and have created a new history club on the Bluff.
The co-creators of the Duquesne History club are junior English and History major, Tommy DeMauro; junior History major, political science and Spanish minor, Thadeus Benson and sophomore political science, sociology and philosophy major Jason Minicozzi.
DeMauro and Benson originally came up with the idea for the club.
“We believed that there is a general consensus that people enjoy history, and they just don’t know it yet,” DeMauro said. “The goal of the Duquesne History club is to get non-history and history majors to come together and bond over the fact that they like history through different events.”
“I joined [Tommy] because he asked me to, and it is hard to say no to such a pretty face,” Benson said.
The club plans to have themed meetings based on a certain decade, film or music genre, cultures and food genre. For example, if the club were to hold a “60’s themed” meeting, students would be able to enjoy food, music and Jeoprady from the 60s.
“I was a transfer [to Duquesne] in the middle of Covid, and this is my first semester actually on campus, and it would be really nice to get to know other people on campus,” Benson said.
The club held their first interest meeting on Nov. 18 to discuss potential activities and gain more information about what students are looking to do in the club.
The Duquesne History Club will hold an additional interest meeting in mid-January to ensure all those who wish to join the club are able to. This meeting will also share the plans for the spring semester dates and events.
“It will be a positive way of getting different majors and different types of people together,” DeMauro said. “We want to be a club started by students for students and we understand the value of communication and consistency.”
The Duquesne History Club also plans to expand its social media presence to make meetings and information accessible to all members.
The club wants to create fun ways to learn about history for people who do not necessarily have an interest in sitting in a history lecture. The club hopes to host field trips to history museums and other historical sites, as well as events that engage learning about history in an exciting way.
“Our main themes are about movies, music and more pop culture rather than just saying facts at you like, ‘The Civil War happened in these years and we’re talking about this battle today,’” DeMauro said.
The club is open to all Duquesne students and DeMauro emphasized that majors from all schools are welcome and encouraged to join.
“[The Duquesne History Club] will bring Duquesne companionship among all” Minicozzi said. “[The club] is looking for a sense of camaraderie among students with active and consistent meetings for the members.”
Students interested in joining the Duquesne History Club can email demaurot@duq.edu for more information.
