Taylor Clark, Staff Writer:

This past Sunday night, Oct. 20, Associated Students Productions (ASP) put on its first drive-in movie night exclusively for Sonoma State students, revealing itself to be a widespread success. The event was free and only required a Sonoma State ID for entry. The movie of choice was “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” For those who are not familiar with this childhood classic, it is a teen comedy about a high school senior who skips school with his two friends and gets caught up in wild adventures all while trying to keep it a secret from the school board and his parents. Films such as this fit the general mood of students perfectly, given that everyone wishes to live such a carefree lifestyle and vicariously live through that of others whenever they can. Often many of us wish to escape our own responsibilities and take a vacation from the stresses of our daily lives, and the drive-in movie effort equipped students with just that.

Students were efficiently directed by the staff to park their cars for the best viewing experience and were instructed to tune into 88.1, which the audio was connected to, in coordination with what was being projected on the screen. From there, either students got comfortable and set up camp, socialized, or saw what other things ASP had to offer. There was an assortment of goodies provided to those who showed up to the event including free tee shirts. An abundance of free concessions including popcorn, cookies, and candy were available for Sonoma State students to indulge in which were provided by culinary services. Other fun activities at this drive in included a chance to win a free t-shirt. As October has come around, temperatures have begun to drop, making this past Sunday evening a cold one. Luckily ASP and culinary services provided an assortment of hot chocolates and apple ciders for students to keep warm while they were watching the movie. 

Sonoma State Senior, Katie Dunn, states that she was “looking forward to this all week,” while Sonoma State Junior, Natalie Gutiere, chimed in with, “I am glad they are doing this for us this semester.”

Mackenzie Patefield is one of the event’s directors for ASP, as she put this whole event together. She states: “this is the first big event I have done with ASP,” adding that this event took her roughly two months to plan and put together. When asked why “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was her movie of choice, she states, “since drive-ins are retro I wanted to pick a retro movie and I am a big 80s fan so of course I was going to pick something from the 80s.” 

ASP’s first drive-in was a success. The night witnessed a solid turn-out with around fifty cars filled with groups of students. Many were bundled up in blankets in the back of trucks enjoying the movie along with the night sky, while others stayed warm by staying inside their cars. Given the fact that this night was such a success, it is easy to say that this will become one of ASP’s staple events in the future. This film fits the overall theme of this semester perfectly. Just like Ferris Bueller skipped out on his responsibilities, the first ever drive-in movie night was a perfect way for students to distract themselves from the difficulties of midterm season and have their own day off.