By Collin Regan – Contributing Writer
UMF students and their families packed the Mantor Green on a dark and beautiful fall
Friday night on October 13th to watch the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus.
UMF Community Assistants Michaela Zelie, Kendra Burgess and Sam O’Neal teamed up to create the event to add to the experience of Family and Friends Weekend at UMF.
Senior CA Michaela Zelie said, “the attendance is huge for this program every time.”
With the feeling of Halloween in the night, Friday the 13th featured one of the most successful and populated programs that UMF has seen so far this year. Along with the film, there was also popcorn, donuts, candy, a variety of hot chocolates, coffee and apple cider available for the UMF community. Students snuggled in their blankets and their eyes never left the screen as people relived some of their childhood memories.
This was the second year that Hocus Pocus was shown on the green. Last year, the event was created with the name Campout Cinema to give residents the chance to watch movies on a bigger screen. Senior Brennah O’Connell remembered last year’s program and was excited to see it come to life again this fall.
“I love that this is becoming a tradition,” said O’Connell. “A lot of people were looking forward to it this fall.”
Tyler St. Pierre, a junior at UMF, was also at the event and enjoyed the atmosphere. “It
was perfect. It was a good way to get into the Halloween spirit,” said St. Pierre.
One of the best parts about the event that had campus buzzing was the movie itself.
“Hocus Pocus is known as one of the classic movies, and it’s good for kids and adults,” said St. Pierre. “It’s a great family movie and really worked out for Family and Friends Weekend.”
Over the course of a semester, each CA has to put on a total of five programs or events
for residents at UMF. The goal of these programs is to build a sense of community. While
most programs are aimed towards a specific residence hall, this program was targeted towards
the whole campus and community, which added work for the three CAs.
“This is easily the hardest program I’ve done because it takes so much time. However the end result is always my favorite,” said Zelie with a smile starting to grow on her face. “To see that many people show up is wonderful.”
The CAs involved with the program had to communicate with several different people
across campus in order to make the program as successful as it was. Some of these
departments included Facilities and Student Life in order to get the rights for the movie. While the process was lengthy, it seemed to be worth it. Kendra Burgess, a first year CA and
sophomore, was impressed with how this program turned out.
“I think it gave a good example of the kinds of things CAs try to do for the community over the entire year,” said Burgess. “I think it was good for families to see this as well, as it fell on Family and Friends Weekend.”
Zelie and Burgess hope to continue more Campout Cinema events during this upcoming
year. “Because Hocus Pocus was such a success last year, the university bought their own screen,” said Zelie. This makes the event more manageable as the extra step of renting a screen is taken out.
Zelie and Burgess urge residents to be on the lookout for all programs that their CA’s put on, and especially potential future Campout Cinema programs.