Preceding the Labor Day weekend hush, an excited crowd gathered on the John Brown University campus quad on Sept. 3, with at least 50 students attending the first Student Events and Activities (SEA) movie showing of the semester. The most interesting part of the event was that the chosen movie was not pre-disclosed to the movie-goers.
The anticipation of the movie reveal might have had a significant role in harnessing such a large crowd. The secrecy intrigued many students’ minds to come and witness the grand reveal, a successful tactic in this SEA event. Nevertheless, other aspects of the event may have also drawn students out from their studies and dorm rooms. Coupled with the promise of sharing a secret, it is likely many students arrived to be bitten by bugs on the quad’s grass for the movie reveal as much as for the postponing of boredom.
Regardless of the students’ reasons for coming to the showing, SEA had a remedy for the pre-movie time. Since the theme of the night, including the movie, was the 80s, the SEA team hosted a casual game of 80s trivia. The various teams competed for a prize, and the first few students to pre-guess the movie also received a prize.
All throughout the pre-movie games, SEA gave away generously-portioned candy and fresh machine-popped popcorn and entertained the surprisingly large crowd with 80s music. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “YMCA” and “We Are Family” were among the 80s playlist songs.
The opinions of several students were emphatically positive. Four students attending the event, Chloe Gladden, Ami Murray, Claire Gentry and Maggie UckMallow, all seemed ecstatic with the SEA event. When asked if they came because of the secrecy involved, Murray commented, “I think so. [The] way [SEA] promoted it was really interactive.” The four friends agreed that the event was “a nice stress-release,” confirming how perfect SEA timed the event.
Katie McLaren, Student Director of SEA, shared her thoughts about the event and planning it. When asked how popular this event will be, she stated, “I think we will have a bigger turnout [than usual due to students’] curiosity and a more immersive experience for the population.” While not yet revealing the selected movie by name, McLaren noted, “We picked a movie we thought would be something all types of movie lovers would like, not just one type.”
The popular 80s movie selected was the original “Back to the Future.” Clearly, SEA strove to give students a study break that would uplift their spirits long enough before they went back to their futures.
It is clear the conclusion to SEA’s event success was a home run. The team’s plan was well-executed the night of the Secret Cinema. From AVL’s tech crew to free snacks to trivia to the movie, SEA has started off the semester of fun with a clear showstopper.
Photo courtesy of JBU SEA