BSU Hosts ‘Princess and the Frog’ Movie Night in the Gym
The club’s third attempt at a school event
Deliberating with his fellow BSU members, sophomore Demetrios West confirms the outline for the poster before continuing to write. Since mid-January, BSU members have been working on posters that were hung in all the hallways. “It was fun, but it was stressful because we were limited on time,” sophomore Rediate Hunde said.
February 8, 2023
After two unsuccessful school events, the Black Student Union is putting all its efforts into a movie night that will be held in the gym on Friday, February 10, from 2-4 p.m. Extensive planning, advertising, and time management have gone into this to make it a night to remember.
“The main issue with the Fall Festival and Winter Wonderland was we didn’t know what we needed,” BSU president Heron Yonas said. “We overestimated the amount of work that needed to be done and the amount of time it would take. We thought a few weeks of planning would be enough, but we now know that we need at least a month.”
Another issue with the last events was the lack of advertising. Now, the BSU board plans to get the word out earlier, and on a larger scale than before.
“We’ve put posters up all around campus and we announced it on the morning announcements,” BSU advisor Larry Reed said. “We didn’t advertise as well as we could’ve before, and we started selling tickets the week of the event. That killed any momentum those other ones had. I can already see after the first three days of sales that this is going to be much more successful.”
The choice of “The Princess and the Frog” was something the BSU board agreed upon after looking at what the movie represents for African-Americans.
“We had to pick a G-rated movie that aligned with what we wanted to talk about for Black History Month,” Yonas said. “‘Princess and the Frog’ showcases a woman of color, Tiana, who was put down by society, but built herself back up against the odds, and that best displays what we stand for.”
Many students have already bought their tickets to the movie night, including sophomore Rediate Hunde. Late buses will be available for those needing transportation.
“I’m really excited,” Hunde said. “I think it’ll be fun and everyone will have a great time. Plus, ‘Princess and the Frog’ is an amazing movie, so you’re probably going to see me crying there.”
Despite BSU’s past challenges, they are hoping an assertive marketing campaign will lead to their idea of success.
“We’re not as well known as StuCo or Key Club,” Reed said. “So we have to work a lot harder and be more aggressive to make this happen. My picture of success is that we would have to turn away students because we sold so many tickets, so we would have to host another one to accommodate everyone. That’s my hope.”
