One lump or two? 'Societea' offers drink and conversation

Imagine a campus organization devoted entirely to drinking tea and having good conversations once a week.

Well, imagine no more. Adam Landin has already created one.

The idea of a societea was fostered while he and two friends were chatting and sipping tea. One of his friends joked that they should start an on-campus organization based on the premise of drinking tea and coffee and enjoying conversation.

She was joking, but soon, Landin wasn’t. Within a week, he had proposed the idea to SGA, and a constitution for the Societea of Tea and Coffee was submitted at the beginning of fall semester. The paperwork was somehow lost, but this spring semester the Societea was granted the status of an official student organization.

The Societea meets in the lounge outside of Bear Necessities.

The fee to join is $2. Landin said this is “for the costs of a couple sips of tea every time we meet.”

He said the topics of discussion are never planned. Whatever comes to mind is what is talked about. The meetings end when the conversation fizzles, and the group members have various places to go.

This past Tuesday, four people came to the Societea. Introductions were made, and, once conversation had lulled, Landin pulled out his laptop. Everyone clustered around him to watch a Youtube video, “Tea Consent,” that cleverly explains sexual consent using tea-drinking.

“Never force someone to drink tea. Not even if they are a little drunk. Not even if they mumble ‘Yes,’” the narrator says. “If they’re unconscious, don’t make them tea. And they can’t answer the question, ‘Do you want tea?’ because they’re unconscious.”

Societea member Michaela Baugh said that at the meeting in early February members talked at length about the racial connotations of Beyonce’s performance at the Super Bowl. Other topics of discussion have included heroes and anti-heroes, such as Deadpool.

Landin said that the Societea has a diverse group of people come to the meetings, and it is rarely the same group.

The Societea is not so much about tea or coffee, but more about relaxing and enjoying whatever conversation happens to come up in the media, Landin said.

Throughout the meeting Tuesday, Feb. 16, Landin kept quoting the Societea’s motto: “Enjoy life, one cup at a time.”

If you want a pleasant place to relax and feel oddly comfortable around strangers, meet with the Societea at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays outside of Bear Necessities in the Connell Student Center.