While Fallfest was happening in Alumni Arena on Thursday night, the Student Association also showed Paranormal Activity 3 before it was released in theaters. But students were less than pleased with the planning of the event.
Many students complained of being turned away at the door of the Student Union Theater, even though they had tickets.
"I understand that Paramount gave UB [more] tickets to ensure theater capacity, but the way the event was organized by SA was horrible," said Charise Gelser, a junior business major. "I missed getting into the theater by about 10 people, but saw countless others budging in line ahead of us with no SA staff doing anything."
Paramount Pictures, Paranormal series' production company, provided SA with 2,000 tickets, along with instructions to give away more tickets than seats, according to a press release made available by the SA on Tuesday. Tickets were only available before the event, and students had to stop in the SA office to pick up the advance tickets. No tickets were given out at the preview.
SA staff members declined an interview with The Spectrum regarding the event, and only provided a press release.
The press release also stated that 650 students showed up for the screening. The Student Union Theater seats 350 people, and 300 students had to be turned away at the door. The tickets included the disclaimer, "Seating is on a first come, first seated basis. Passes DO NOT guarantee admission," on the bottom of each ticket.
"When it became clear many people weren't going to get in and more than 350 people were in line, people toward the back decided to cut when the doors opened," said Caleb Vaughn, a sophomore business major. "If there were like stamps or something to that effect given to people as they got there, or even a queue line or security to help organize the event, [it may have been better]."
The sneak preview was brought to UB as a marketing incentive to boost public box office sales for the film premiere. The film made $54 million at the box office this past weekend, and Vaughn added that he was impressed that SA was able to get such a highly anticipated movie to play on campus before local theaters even released it.
Due to the limited availability of Alumni Arena, Fallfest was scheduled the same night as the screening, according to the press release. Eight SA staff members were scheduled to work the sneak preview, and due to the expected magnitude of Fallfest, the rest of the SA staff was scheduled to work at Alumni Arena, according to the release.
The SA recognized the frustration and chaos that ensued when the doors were opened at 8:30 p.m. for the 9 p.m. showing. The line of students traveled from the door of the SU Theater all the way to and up the stairs by Pistachio's, and when the doors opened, the students rushed to try to get into the theater. This put the students and the SA staff in harm's way, according to the press release.
"SA plans on managing line control for future events by roping off a line in the area around the theater," SA stated in the release. "However, only a small section can be roped off due to the threat of a fire hazard."
Students like Gelser and Vaughn may have been upset with the turnout of the event, but many hope the SA will learn from this event and plan better for future events.
"I hope that SA is learning from this last month as many students have been ticked off through the Fall Fest problems," Vaughn said. "I really hope they implement things they've said they've learned. I plan on attending more SA events; I just want the quality to be there."
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
