If you ended up at N.C. State because your first choice didn’t work out, then there isn’t a lot the University can do to pretend you’re at Harvard. However, if your top choice happened to be some sort of clown college, you’re in luck.

Jonathan Tufts, a sophomore in biological sciences, founded N.C. State’s Juggling Club last September. 

Since receiving a set of juggling balls for Christmas six years ago, Tufts has been a serious juggler. He started the club to promote what he said is one of his most beloved and long-lasting hobbies by creating a place for teaching anyone who wants to learn the art of juggling. 

“One of the things we provide is shared experience, we all have our fortes,” Tufts said. “We all know different techniques and can teach different tricks.”

Tufts said the club’s officers wanted to create a laid-back atmosphere to share and teach one of their hobbies. 

Seven officers lead the club with the aid of other experienced members. Together, they offer help and instructions to beginners, so no juggling experience is required to join the club. 

Tufts said the instructors each work to pass on their skills, and they each have a different teaching and juggling style, which makes for a great resource for anyone who wants to learn.

The Juggling Club might sound intimidating or ridiculous to those with little or no experience with the art, but the club has a lot of members who are learning to juggle for the first time, according to Tufts.

Student Government granted the club official status last September but it came too late to participate in Packapolooza and Campus Crawl a year ago. The club went largely unnoticed because of this. 

But this year was different.

Tufts and other members were able to promote the club at Packapolooza, Campus Crawl and the Student Involvement Fair.

Though these events helped the club grow in popularity, the most notable advertisement for The Juggling Club might be Tufts himself, who rides his unicycle to class and occasionally juggles while doing so.

For the majority of last year, the club had only a handful of members. This year, Tufts said about 20 to 30 people have already attended the club’s first two meetings.

“We eventually would like to be able to put on a few performances around campus,” Tufts said. “Now that we have more people and talent, we hope to have some performances.” 

Tufts said performances were out of the question last year with such few members, but plans are in the works to organize a juggling event as the club grows. 

Tufts said the new members are doing “surprisingly well” when it comes to their progress in juggling.

“Part of having different perspectives and experienced teachers really helps,” Tufts said.

According to Tufts, when people try juggling they get easily discouraged within the first minutes of trying.

“If you put the time and effort into it you pick it up a lot easier,” Tufts said.

The Juggling Club meets on the squash courts of Carmichael gym and occupies two rooms. One room is devoted to traditional juggling practice, and the club utilizes the other room to practice with a wide variety of juggling props.

These props and juggling variations include, but are not limited to: Chinese yo-yo, rings, clubs, devil/Luna sticks, cigar boxes, staffs, use of unicycles and Poi.

The club meets Tuesdays from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. and Fridays from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.

“There are lots of different levels of experience when it comes to juggling,” Tufts said. “Most people hear juggling and think of the balls, but there is a lot more to it.”