Bobcat Esports President Spotlight
Micah Tóbon, the current Bobcat Esports President, will be coming back to Ohio University for the fall semester with aspirations of promoting and enhancing the organization.
Tóbon, before becoming the Bobcat Esports President, was president of the League of Legends club for Ohio University. Tóbon founded the League of Legends club his freshman year. The origins were unexpected; Tóbon, an out-of-state student from California, made a Discord server with his friend and roommate Noah Powell, and from then on, their tight-knit group exploded into a flourishing club on campus.
In January, Tóbon was granted the presidency from Kristofer Meyeres, the former president of Bobcat Esports. During the time of transition, the two of them worked as co-presidents to ensure that Bobcat Esports would be in good hands. Kristofer Meyeres has always worked closely with Tóbon, as he was in charge of one of the largest esports clubs on campus.
As president of Bobcat Esports, Tóbon is responsible for all things esports on campus. Tóbon and Bobcat Esports serve as resources to all of the clubs that run through the organization. Tóbon oversees club growth and promotes the clubs to attend events, participate in Bobcat Esports, and with other communities. Tóbon is also responsible for overseeing fundraising, public gatherings, and events.
For the coming semester, Tóbon says, “I think we find ourselves in a very unprecedented situation during this pandemic, but I always like to seize opportunities.” Tóbon believes that the current situation benefits the expansion of esports, especially when many are stuck indoors during a time of online learning. Tóbon and Bobcat Esports plan to take advantage of the situation by hosting online events and providing a friendly and safe online environment through Discord and other online platforms such as Twitch.
Promoting the organization was a difficult task for the past few months, yet during quarantine, Bobcat Esports has gotten creative in their outreach. Bobcat Esports reached out to Admissions to host a 1v1 tournament in League of Legends with incoming freshmen, as well as reaching out to various clubs and assist in their searches for online scrimmages and events. Bobcat Esports has a Discord server that all clubs are welcome to use, and the organization promotes and advertises all the online events that the clubs are participating in as well.
It is still of utmost importance that Bobcat Esports respects the communities and cultures of the clubs without infringing on their liberties. To do so, Bobcat Esports holds the club presidents accountable for maintaining the already present standard of having inclusive and easily accessible communities for those interested in esports. Bobcat Esports allows each club to hold its own elections, meetings, fundraisers, and advertising avenues.
Tóbon says, “We give our clubs as much creative freedom as possible as long as they are not breaking the community guidelines outlined by the Bobcat Esports constitution.”
The new esports facility and scholarship will be great tools for Bobcat Esports. Tóbon says that Bobcat Esports will be working to expand their competitive programs by participating in the MAC League this year. Both the scholarship and the facility will allow players more opportunities to hone their skills and to deepen interest in esports, promoting the growth of Bobcat Esports and competitive gaming on campus.
Tóbon’s presidency will be over by the end of the academic year, but he said that he sees many great candidates that have the same aspirations of promoting esports on campus for the future.
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