Student entertainment through CAB

Every weekend, on Fridays and Saturdays, the campus activities board (CAB) puts on a movie for students to watch in Dole Auditorium or the rook dining area, according to a CAB representative.

"The movies that the activities board pick tend to be movies that are in between the movie theater stage and the DVD stage, so it gives students the opportunity to get the sneak peek before it comes out on DVD," said William Cobb, a 21-year-old junior criminal justice major from Cabot, Vt.

According to several Norwich students, the movies that are shown are popular among those who go see them. The films always have a fairly large turnout. 

"They haven't shown any bad movies recently," said Cobb. "I think the fact that the movies are free gets a lot more people going."

Freshmen recruits in the Corps of Cadets, who are usually required to go to the movies on the weekends, agree that the movies are a nice way to get away from the stress of being a rook, said Jeff Womelsdorf, a 19-year-old freshman criminal justice major from Colorado Springs, Colo.

"We've been really satisfied with the types of movies that have been playing," Womelsdorf said.  "I think the campus activities board chooses what is popular and so far I have no complaints about what has been played."

The movies are supplied by a company named Swank, which gives the campus activities board a list of pre-released movies, according to Kelly Allenspach, a 20-year-old senior biology and English double major from Andover, N.J. and CAB rep.

"Pre-released movies are movies that just get out of theaters, but before they are available on DVD," Allenspach said. This makes the movie titles fairly new. 

According to Allenspach, the campus activities board tries to gage student interest based on what is popular in the box office and the recommendations of Norwich's Swank representative.

"If a student was especially interested in a particular movie, I would love to get e-mails or have them come to us," Allenspach said. "We don't get a lot of that, I'm not sure if students know, but the CAB will often suggest certain movies that students would want to see."

The campus movies usually get a good turnout, especially from the freshmen class. Other students seem interested in attending because it is a campus activity that they are aware of, which occurs on a weekly basis, according to Allenspach. 

"We try to mix it up. We don't like to show four comedies in a row or five action movies," Allenspach said. "We try to select them based on pre-release dates and the type of movie."

According to Allenspach, some movies have a higher turnout. "G.I. Joe" had a higher turnout than "The Proposal." The campus movies are a way for students to have a good safe time on the weekends.