The books may be written and the movies have ended, but Harry Potter fans on campus are determined to keep the series alive.

For graphic design senior Jenna Mahaffy, the Harry Potter series has always been an important part of this generation’s upbringing.

“I remember sitting on the school bus when I was in fifth grade reading the first Harry Potter book, and I knew right then that this was going to be a huge phenomenon,” she said.

Mahaffy is the cofounder, along with secondary education junior Shannon Davis, of the newly created Harry Potter RSO named Dumbledore’s Army.

“We began the process for registering the club this fall,” Mahaffy said. “Now that we have everything in the works, we have big hopes that there will be even more interesting once the semester picks up next year.”

She said that she and Davis initially thought up the idea around the release of the second part of the final film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

“Shannon and I are huge fans of the series, and we both thought that starting a Harry Potter RSO would be a great opportunity to harness the enthusiasm that so many fans seem to have for the franchise,” she said.

Since the publication of J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in 1997, the series has gained worldwide recognition and notoriety from readers of all ages.

Those who graduated from high school in the mid-late 2000s usually consider themselves particularly invested in the series, as they have grown up alongside Harry, Ron, Hermione and all other characters whose adventures they read about in the books.

Now that the book series has come to an end, along with the most recent theatrical adaptation in July 2011, fans question what the future holds for Harry Potter.

Elementary education senior Joshua Guerrero said that he is happy to see this RSO commemorating the series.

“It’s great to see clubs like Dumbledore’s Army because it shows that there are still so many other Harry Potter enthusiasts out there,” he said.

He added that he wonders about the longevity of the series now that there are no new books or movies to look forward to.

Mahaffy said that she is confident that the support she’s seen from students shows that although the Harry Potter series is over, the franchise has not come to an end.

Some of the proposed activities that Mahaffy said Dumbledore’s Army would like to offer next year are cooked meals from the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, screening events for the movies and making T-shirts for the club.

Dumbledore’s Army is still in its early stages of development, so Mahaffy said that other themes and activities that are iconic to the Potter series,
such as Quiddich and Hogwarts house affiliations, are welcomed to be explored.

“We’ve had interest across all class rankings here on campus, so overall this is really exciting to be a part of,” said Mahaffy.