The Grove was scattered with blankets, lawn chairs, and bundled up students ready for a night of movies under the stars with College Programming Board’s “Camp Out with Movies” event this past Saturday. CPB played three consecutive movies projected onto a screen near the Arch, beginning at 8 p.m. and continuing well into the morning.
“We’ve had movie nights before, but decided that we could take it a step further, use a space, the Grove, which we don’t always put to use and have a really great night,” CPB co-president Elida Alfaro said. “We all figured the combination of new movies, some good food, and a relaxing night with friends would be a great September event since, as college students, we’re all getting back in the swing of things and could always use a good movie night.”
The first movie played was Pixar’s “Monsters University” followed by “This is the End.” The horror film “The Roommate” finished off the night, adding some scares to the otherwise lighthearted playlist. This event gave students the opportunity to view “Monsters University” and “This is the End” for free before they hit stores, as both movies have DVD release dates in October.
“When picking the movies, we tried to keep things fresh and fun as well as attract different audiences with a variety of genres. With ‘Monsters University’ and ‘This is the End’ being new releases, the College Programming Board thought that these would be a great draw in,” Alfaro said. “With great reviews as well as being new, we also thought this could be a great opportunity for ourselves as well as our peers to see a movie they might not have had a chance to see during the summer.”
While “The Roommate” is not a new release, it was decided on by the students. CPB knew they wanted a horror film to end the event and took suggestions on what to show.
“I’m looking forward to ‘The Roommate’ because I’m the one who picked it,” sophomore Chelsea Qualliu explained. “I went to a CPB meeting, and we filled out on a form…about what we wanted to see. They asked if anyone had any suggestions about a scary movie and I said, ‘Yeah, let’s see ‘The Roommate,’ because that’s something I wanted to see.”
CPB also provided food, treating students to an array of cookies, pizza, popcorn, and hot chocolate for the crowd to munch on throughout the night. Students were encouraged to bring blankets and chairs to make themselves comfortable out on the grass.
“Free food, free drinks, free entertainment for the night–there’s nothing else to do and that’s better than sitting in our dorm,” junior Gina Vallimonte said.
If you missed “Camp Out with Movies,” look for more CPB events to come. Alfaro promised that this semester will be full of more free CPB events.
“After working hard everyday, every student deserves the option to go out and have a fun, free night with their friends and to make new ones while you’re there,” Alfaro said. “With an e-board and committee composed entirely of Ramapo College students, we do our best to bring events to campus that everyone wants to have and always welcome new members. This may be one of the few times in our lives when we are presented with this many great options, always at one convenient place and all for free. I say there’s no reason not to give them a try.”
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rking2@ramapo.edu
