On Friday, Nov. 2, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and on Friday, Nov. 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. the sophomore and freshman classes, respectively, held their own movie nights in the Conklin Library.
Sophomore president Emma Henry said that she and the other class representatives including vice president Sloan Duvall and the three Form Four senators, Eden Nenshati, Henry Mandell and Risha Ranjan, wanted to make the movie night with a “spooky” theme to keep the night interesting.
“We decided to watch a horror movie because we knew everyone would be engaged with the movie in some way,” she said. “Some people would be having a great time and others would be scared by it.”
Sloan said that she and the other organizers wanted to host a movie night to give the class a chance to connect outside of the usual school events. “We wanted to have a fun night for just our form to bond and also have a social event for people who don’t love dances,” Sloan said.
The coordinators then asked the rest of the class to send them any appropriate horror movie suggestions that they would like to watch together in the library. “We put seven into a Google form and sent it out. Two movies tied for first – ‘The Visit’ and ‘Truth or Dare,’” Sloan said.
Sloan created a separate Google form with only the two movies that received the most votes. “‘The Visit” won about 60 percent of the votes,” she said.
Some of the students wanted to watch a different movie than the ones that were listed on the form. “One of our classmates said we should watch ‘Cars 3’ because no one really liked the horror movie options since they were PG-13, so a lot of people voted for it but it didn’t win,” sophomore Landon White said.
“The Visit” ended up being the movie selected for the movie night. “The movie was ok,” sophomore Henry Krieble said. “It’s hard to watch a good horror movie that isn’t rated R so watching a PG-13 movie was a letdown.”
Movie nights are often set in Roberts Theater because of the projector and large space, but this year Form Four Dean Kata Baker organized the movie night in the library because of the new big screen. Mrs. Baker said it was very easy to use as she just had to hook her computer up to the system.
Mrs. Baker said that this venue change created a much cozier vibe as they could turn off almost all the lights, and it is a smaller space. Students brought their own blankets and sat in chairs and on the floor since they were not restricted to the seats in Roberts Theater.
Students agreed that the library was a perfect place for this event.
“I think the library was a great spot for the movie, and it’s an inclusive spot so everyone could see the movie,” sophomore Izzy Berckemeyer said. “Overall, the movie was very funny with a good amount of scary parts. I also think it was a good time for our grade to bond with one another through laughter and screaming,” she said.
Mrs. Baker also got movie popcorn and Halloween candy for the students to enjoy while watching the movie. “The snacks were solid,” Henry said. “We had popcorn and lots of candy.”
Many in the class were able to attend the movie night, but various students had conflicting commitments. “We had a pretty good turnout, but unfortunately there were two team dinners going on at the same time, so some people were unable to make it,” Sloan said.
Mrs. Baker said that in the past she used to organize an end of quarter skate for her form and thinks this could be a good event to replace it. “Now that we have the library, this could be a low-key alternative,” she said.
The freshman class was also sent a form to select the movie they wanted to watch for their movie night and “Incredibles 2” received the most votes. “I think it’s a good decision to have ‘Incredibles 2’ for the movie night because a lot of people like the movie,” freshman Will Berckemeyer said.
Freshman Mackenzie Caruso said that while watching the movie she and her classmates were able to enjoy various delicious snacks. “The food was amazing, with cookies, brownies, donuts, and more, and the Moe’s burritos were delicious.”
Freshman Natalia Correa said that she also enjoyed the snacks. “They provided so much for us,” she said. “We had cookies, brownies, chips, juice boxes, and popcorn.”
Mackenzie had seen the movie before, but she was excited to see it again. “I loved the movie. There were some very funny parts, and my favorite scenes involved the baby Jack Jack. I had seen it before, but it still managed to make me laugh.”
This form event provided another outlet for the freshman class to continue to get to know each other. “Form events are really fun and we have never had a movie night,” Will said. “It is another opportunity for the form to get together and bond outside of the classroom.”
Mackenzie said that overall she really enjoyed the event and thinks her friends did too. “I really hope to do it again because it was the perfect opportunity for me to hang out with my friends that live far away outside of school.”
