Volunteering at Genericon
Volunteering at Genericon is a great way to give back to your favorite college-student-run con and will now be much more structured. In previous years, you could anticipate long hours and late night shifts. With our departure from 48-hours of convention, we can now have a significantly more pleasant experience for our volunteers. The longest possible shift we now offer is 8 hours in one day, with two 4 hour blocks with a one hour break in between.
For more information, a list of rewards for volunteering, and instructions on how to register, check our page on Becoming a Volunteer.
Genericon XXXIII Confirmed for March 21 & 22!
Listen up, detectives! Genericon XXXIII has been confirmed for March 21-22 with the following hours: Saturday 8AM-7PM & Sunday 8AM-5PM. There will be no Genericon events on the Friday before the convention weekend, but early badge pickup will be available during the preceding week in the RPI Union like usual.
Although the vast majority of Genericon attendees are respectful and amazing, several issues have arisen over the past few years with unacceptable behavior from attendees violating our rules. Our host school, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), has a first priority as a school not as a convention center. As such, they did not want to continue hosting Genericon in its previous form because of the aforementioned issues and the limitations of running a convention on the campus itself. This will mean that in order for Genericon to stay on RPI campus, the Institute has told us that there will be an increased security presence and no more night events at Genericon.
Worry not! We have managed to fit almost the same amount of exciting Genericon programming, but we have reduced ticket prices for this year anyway. (Friendly reminder that tickets are free if you volunteer to work or if you are selected to be a panelist/GM/contest winner.) Tickets for Genericon 33 are priced as follows:
RPI Student: $10
Child under 18 accompanied by an Adult over 18: $10
Pre-Registered Adult: $15
Adult-at-the-Door Adult: $25
In order to enter the convention, you must have a valid Government identification card with your name and your photo on it. A photocopy of the card will be made for our records. Your badge will now show your legal name under a nickname you have selected (if desired). We’re doing this to record individuals who are not in compliance with Genericon or RPI’s policy so we may report them to Campus Public Safety or local Troy PD. If you intend to come to Genericon to drink alcohol and harass others, please do not attend.
We will also not be allowing any cosplay that is covering the face, except for use during Cosplay contests/events and only inside of those events. This is to ensure that no masked individuals will be able to harass others without consequence. Makeup and hats are permitted, but the individual must have their face showing enough that they are recognizable by their photo ID.
RPI has a strict no alcohol policy, and it especially applies to Genericon. Alcohol is not allowed at the event or on campus, even if you are over 21. Any person found in possession of alcohol or under the influence of alcohol will immediately be escorted off campus and banned from attending Genericon in the future. Drugs are not allowed at the event (or in general). Any person found in possession of or under the influence of drugs will be escorted to Troy PD and banned from attending Genericon in the future. RPI is a smoke free campus, smoking is not allowed on campus but is permitted on 15th St.
Forms for all normal applications will open very soon. We apologize for the increased security measures, but we cannot make exceptions to them. If a significant security issue occurs, Genericon may not be allowed to continue operating on RPI campus, so please adhere to all rules for all of our benefit. Please make sure that your ID will be valid during Genericon if you wish to attend, because we will turn away individuals without valid ID. If you have any questions, please message our Facebook page or email either [email protected] or [email protected].
Free Passes, Prizes and More
Got a killer idea for a panel? Or maybe you want to GM your own Pathfinder campaign? If so, fill out the respective application to potentially run an event. If we accept your entry, you’ll be able to receive a guest pass for free as a thank-you for your work.
You can also submit artwork to one of the contests below. Winners can win free passes, anime and sci-fi merchandise, or other goodies. Specific prizes vary for each contest, please email our contest coordinator at [email protected] if you have any questions.
Genericon is a weekend-long, general convention run by the students of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. We feature a wide variety of attractions that run the gamut of geeky hobbies, including science fiction, gaming of all forms, and anime. Our events include panels by guest speakers, video gaming tournaments, role-playing games of both the pen-and-paper and live-action variety, and showings of both science fiction classics and modern anime fresh from Japan.