Editorial: 'Drive-in' movie was poorly executed

By: Editorial Board

Posted: 9/4/08

UConn has finally captured students attention and attempted to steer us away from late-night partying by showing the comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" on a big screen outside of the library. There was ample space for seating, free popcorn and eager students. What was lacking was the movie itself. The movie began to play on a sagging, sheer screen, blurring the characters and frustrating the students. Many students who opted to attend the show immediately left their seats in favor of an activity more worthy of their time. Many of those students wandered off to the same parties the event was designed to dissuade students from attending.

SUBOG has done a wonderful thing by finally hosting an activity that students will attend, let alone one that may actually be a sober event. Although programs like Late Night are great, some students still show up inebriated. Due to the timing of the movie and the location, students were less tempted to drink alcohol. However, the event didn't hold the attention of some students for the first five minutes. The outdoor movie is a great idea and one that should be planned again, but it needs better planning. It was very poorly executed.

There are certain things that could have been avoided with better planning. For instance, if one puts a sheer screen in front of light, the light will obviously obstruct the view and cause the scene to be distorted. Distortion could have also been avoided if the slumping screen was fixed, which seemed like it was sagging long before the movie began. In the future, there should be staff on hand at an event that numerous students are willing to attend. If not, students will lose interest and the event will be futile. If students lose interest at the first movie night, they are less likely to attend the second one, and as a result, a portion of students will go to a party or drink alcohol with friends. This is unavoidable in many cases, but the university can limit the amount of kids that are drinking by promoting sober events that students actually want to attend.

SUBOG should hold another outdoor movie night before fall surrounds the campus and it is too cold to keep students outside and sober - but next time, they should plan it out so students actually stay to watch the movie.