Leadership Class Hosts A Safe Senior Movie Night

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While munching down on some popcorn and viewing the movie Black Panther, Radford seniors that had been trapped at home staring at their Google Meet classroom gathered safely to appreciate the presence of their peers they missed for most of their senior year.

Khia Ngo, Reporter

Casting doubt that seniors may never be able to have normal social events, Radford’s Senior Leadership Class came in clutch putting together Senior Movie Night on Jan. 8 at the practice soccer field. Simple as it may seem, the idea was a safe choice that combined the possibilities of seeing missed friends with a socially distanced get-together.

“I had a blast, I thought it was so sweet of them to give us free food, and I loved the movie,” Cyera Montelongo (12) said. “It was a little strange sitting a bit away from my friends but anything to keep everyone safe.” 

Upon arriving at the school seniors were parked in the small parking lot near the band room. Noticing those that had either chosen between bringing a blanket or chair to sit on, with rows of seating spread to keep the distance, seniors headed towards the practice soccer field to enjoy the thrilling action movie, “Black Panther.” There were stands being set up by the leadership class and snacks scattered on the tables as students arrived for the event. Before entering everyone who had signed up had to pay a fee of $1 and was given a purple wristband to identify who had already paid the admission. While waiting to be called up to pick through the many selections of snacks, the smell of popcorn roamed in the air creating the nostalgic movie theater atmosphere that many may have missed before the pandemic. Reaching the stand the options seemed endless as the leadership committee gave out three small bags of candy, fresh-popped popcorn, a bottle of water, and a bento which was gratefully donated by the Radford’s J.R.O.T.C. After finishing the movie, the field lights were turned on to help those clean up in the night and it was time to pack up and head home, the end to a fantastic night.  

Senior leadership teacher, Sherrie Tiitii would offer her hand to the leadership group if they needed it but they were already more than capable of planning the movie night all by themselves. The senior leadership class proved that they were great leaders by taking control and directing events, ensuring the safety of fellow students.

“It wasn’t me, it was the leadership class,” said Tiitii. “With the Covid pandemic, the senior class was losing a lot so they brainstormed some ideas that were safe and convenient.”

The hardworking senior leadership class coordinated the event but this idea was not something that happened overnight. Trial and error is a process that students are all too familiar with. The constant cycle of brainstorming an idea and testing the idea out in different scenarios is universal. The Senior Leadership Class went through a similar experience as they planned the event.

“We started brainstorming ideas back in August,” Tiitii said. 

The plan took a process of five months and brainstorming the project took them longer than actually putting it together. Polls were posted to pick out the movie for the occasion but only the leadership class knew what the polling was for, not wanting to spill the secret they were planning. The poll was daily and could be found on the Radford Senior Twitter page (@rhsclassof21). During the polling period, the leadership class would post two movies and participants would vote between the two, whichever one came out on top would be put up against another movie until they finally came to the conclusion of the movie “Black Panther.” This process was a smart idea as students were able to interact with their peers through social media, an easy way to reach everyone without leaving the house. 

In the near future, Radford may see similar events announced.  The senior class showed appreciation for the effort it took to plan the movie night after the circumstances that took away their social events. They expressed gratitude towards the senior leadership class for helping them feel that things were becoming a little normal again.