How Elon University Safely Hosts Indoor Movies
Learn how the North Carolina school pivoted in response to COVID-19.
In response to Covid-19, Elon University has made a number of changes to their movie program in order to safely continue to host movie events. First, they reduced their theater capacity from 200 down to 36. This is the maximum number of people allowed in order to ensure every seat has six feet of distance from the next available seat in each direction. This seating arrangement is enforced for everyone, regardless of their relationship to another person in attendance. “We recognize we could increase capacity by allowing roommates to sit next to each other, but we made the decision to keep guidelines standard across the board,” shared Adrian Carpenter, the school’s assistant director of student involvement for campus activities.
While Carpenter has witnessed some students leave when they realize they can’t sit together, he’s also seen informal “hangouts” just outside the theater following their film events that prove the value of these events for student involvement and culture. “The first weekend, I witnessed a group of freshman all introduce themselves and even create a GroupMe named ‘Jumanji’ so they could stay in touch!”
In case the theater hits its capacity, the event’s organizers always have a satellite location set up near the theater each week to handle overflow. And in addition to spreading out the seats, masks are required for all attendees for the entire duration of the film. This means no popcorn or candy is served, unlike their typical pre-Covid events.
To make the most of their event promotion, the organizers chose to emphasize the draw of each singular film instead of their series as a whole. “We decided to use the money we would be spending on event posters to create posters for each movie!” shared Carpenter. “We print 30 movie posters each week and put them up in each of the residence halls and high traffic areas on campus... And we are planning to add this into our funding request for next year as well.”
Looking ahead, Carpenter hopes to bring back outdoor and drive-in movie events once the weather heats up in North Carolina. The organizers had success in the fall hosting outdoor showings each Friday featuring the same film they were screening inside that week, and are hoping to carry this over in the spring. “We provide blankets that are spaced out six-feet apart that attendees get to keep when they leave,” Carpenter shared. “And since we had so much success with drive-in movies, I am certain that will be something we try to offer even beyond COVID times.”
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