Schedler Honors College presents ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’

The Schedler Honors College Council hosted an interactive screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with several generations of Schedler students Oct. 29 in McAlister Hall.

Before the screening began, students, professors and guests were given bags filled with random objects, such as a newspaper, glove, party popper, sponge and more.

Audience members used each object in their bag with a corresponding scene, such as using the party popper during a celebration scene or covering their heads with a newspaper as a storm rained on the lead characters.

Older audience members quoted lines and played along with the dialogue throughout the movie.

The event was open to council members, students, graduates and professors, being a long-running staple for the honors council.

“I hope to share a little bit of what things used to be like and see how things have changed,” alumni Alex Chandler-Ezell said.

Ezell graduated in 1996, representing a nearly 30-year gap between himself and freshmen today.

The tradition began after an old girlfriend of Ezell’s took him to a showing of the film. 

Soon enough, Ezell and others introduced the cult classic to other Schedler members, watching it at least once every semester.

Freshman Kyle Urban said, “It’s a pretty good movie. I enjoyed interacting with some of the older folks from the honors college and getting a slice of the history.”

Urban believes that it’s through a connection with the alumni that the honors college can become the best it can be.

“They inspire us to grow as people, and as a byproduct of that growth, we end up helping our community,” Urban said.

Only a handful of the audience, mostly alumni and older members, had seen the movie before.

Students had a great time playing along with the film’s interactive elements, dancing, and joking with alumni.

Urban finds that events like these are important, especially for freshmen, as the effects of the pandemic are still present, with people struggling to participate in group-held activities.

“We are in need of a new approach to student engagement,” Urban said.

Coordinator of engagement and support Cindy Lea was another one of the original students to watch the film with Ezell.

Lea didn’t know that the film existed until her freshman year, quickly becoming a fanatic and dressing up as the popular character Magenta for Halloween.

“It makes me really happy to see we had current students who’d never seen Rocky here, and then people from when I was here,” Lea said.

Coming to UCA from Fayetteville, Lea says that it was through the council that she found her best friends, her husband and a safe place to talk to anyone.

Lea said, “It really shows that we’re a family and that the connection doesn’t end when you graduate.”