Spirit Week: Movie Night at the Cayton Center
SMC's Homecoming Week is a unique experience for the everyday community college student. Most 2-year institutions don't establish the importance of school spirit because of the many circumstances of students who are attending. Many students only attend part-time, some have long commutes to campus which prevent them from staying later into the day, and many students just don't care to participate because of the rapid pace of the semester. However, the Associated Students sought to tackle this problem and bring students together.
The AS hosted a double-feature of two memorable football films: "The Blindside" and "Remember The Titans" in the Cayton Center on Wednesday night during Homecoming Week. This event was only one of the many other events planned throughout the week to enhance school spirit.
"Blind side is one of my favorite films, and watching it with friends and colleagues will be a lot of fun," said Lahari Indraganti, ICC Vice Chair of Associate Students. "Everyone worked so hard to put this together, and I want to support it as much as possible."
The two ladies responsible for creating the screening, as well as helping create all the events of Spirit Week, are Amber Winter, Director of Activities, and Alexandra Brechensbauer, Director of Outreach.
"We really wanted to offer a wide range of things to do, and since we already had a poster-making competition on Monday, and the Carnival in the Quad on Tuesday, we thought chilling out and watching a movie was the next step," said Breschensbauer.
The Movie Night starts off, and the Cayton Center is completely transformed into an intimate movie theatre. The students are rowdy at first, but once "The Blindside" starts, everyone quiets down and relaxes. SMC Student, Heather Haro, proudly said, "I think it's awesome for students to meet with one another outside of the classroom setting, and hopefully it will bring people together, especially with free food."
Both Amber and Alexandra happily pass around meatball sandwich sliders and vegan chicken tenders. The smell of popcorn fills the air, and students casually chat with each other throughout the film. The turnout for the event is impressive. What makes this activity different than other things happening in the Quad on campus throughout the week is that students must go out of their way to attend. Things like a carnival and Club Row are convenient for students passing between classes, but the Movie Night requires the individual to go out of their way to show up.