Scream Screen: 11 years in and still obsessed

By Jenna Munswami

A  perfect fall evening, with chills and thrills in the air, set the vibe for 107.7 The Bronc’s 11th-annual Scream Screen on Oct. 23.

Starting right at 6 p.m. after a full day of set up by staff members of The Bronc and volunteers for the classic trunk-or-treat portion of the night, everyone, from Rider students to Lawrenceville locals, were invited to join in on the spooky celebrations.

Scream Screen XI brought in 38 different trunk-or-treat stations. Candy was not the only edible option, as eight different food vendors arrived, as well, including B2 Bistro + Bar, DeLorenzo’s The Burg, Lawrenceville Sandwich Co., Monster Energy, Osteria Procaccini, Bronc Bites, TCC Hibachi and Yooo Cuz.

As delicious as the food was, evident by the lines that could stretch across the C&R lot, there was way more to enjoy. Face painting, monster mini golf and pumpkin painting were returning activities that got a lot of attention. For any risk takers in attendance, the Student Government Association’s Mechanical Pumpkin was a suitable challenge.

At the entrance to the event, guests were greeted with a free Scream Screen XI tote bag and an attached coupon for Broadway Chicken. With bags in hand, ready for trunk or treat, students, staff members and community participants took on the brisk night to enjoy all they could.

Among the organizations that took part in volunteering was the Bronc Programming Board, formerly known as the Student Entertainment Council. Victoria Dunn, senior public relations major, serves as the co-director of marketing and communications and helped with tabling.

She said that this was the organization’s first time tabling under the new name, but they had volunteered for Scream Screen before in the past. 

“We think it’s a great turnout event,” Dunn said. “Firstly, Scream Screen’s one of my favorite Rider events. I love seeing the community so close together and everyone’s having so much fun, and I love student engagement at Rider. This is a great thing for us to do.”

Many different forms of media were represented by students dressed to the nines in their costumes, from the main couple of the musical “Hadestown” all the way to the horror icon Ghostface. Students threw compliments about each other’s costumes over the   on-theme tunes provided by The Bronc.

Eventgoers were seen forming dance circles with their friends, fully absorbed in the music. For those who wanted a different vibe, tables were available in which groups of students conversed over their food.

One of the popular vendors of the night was B2 Bistro + Bar, serving chili to add some warmth that countered the chill of the night. It was not the group’s first time tabling for a Rider event, but they made their return for this year’s Scream Screen.

Ben Philp, who was working at the table, said that Rider has a partnership with them and they are heavily involved with the university. He added that it is fun to come out to Rider, too.

“I think that it’s really awesome and it provides a great opportunity for the community to get together and enjoy some chili,” Philp said when asked about Rider trying to connect with the community.

This connection does not happen overnight. Scream Screen, being one of the campus’ biggest events, has a meticulous planning process.

Kadie DiGiuseppe, a senior sports media major and student general manager for The Bronc, revealed that certain parts are planned as early as May of the previous academic year. From ordering the screen to renewing contracts, students at the radio station are hard at work to give Rider the best experience possible. With how much time goes into the event, there are a lot of rewarding parts, too.

“I just love how the whole community comes out, too,” DiGiuseppe said. “People were walking by today because they were just on a walk around campus, and they live in the community, and they’re like ‘Can we come out tonight?’ and I’m like, ‘Of course, of course you can come out.’”

DiGiuseppe was also thankful to see everyone in costume, saying, “To watch everybody come here in costumes and have a great time and have good food and get candy, it also just makes me so excited for Halloween.”

Darkened skies later on made for the perfect time to start the movie screenings as trunk-or-treating wrapped concluded. 

The first special shown for Halloween fans of all ages was “Gravity Falls: Summerween.” Fans went to the grass or their cars as the music from the iconic theme song called them over. 

This premiered before the main event: the feature film. The movie that got the most votes had been kept under lock and key for the whole day, leaving everyone in anticipation.

Mabeline Syers, a junior accounting major, was helping table the event with the Latin American Student Organization, where she serves as vice president.

She said that LASO came to table for Scream Screen because the organization wanted to give back to the community. Syers was ready for the movie after tabling was over.

“Well, I’m looking forward to the movie. Like, I want to see the big reveal. I can’t wait,” Syers said.

Voting for which horror movie would premiere opened up all the way back in the middle of September. Originally being able to vote on 13 different films, the final round left only five to choose from: “Backrooms,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Obsession” and “Weapons.”

Right after “Gravity Falls: Summerween” ended, students waited with bated breath to see if their pick ended up being the winner. 

After loading up the movie, the feature film for Scream Screen this year was “Obsession.”

John Mozes talked about how they changed up the selection process for which movies would be offered.

“I think [what] we found out is, even though we like to mix the films up, students really flock to the films of recent years. … So tonight’s winner is ‘Obsession,’ right? And that’s a big movie from this year, and it won probably by about 10% over ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Weapons,’” he said.

Outside of the chaos of the event, Mozes said that his favorite part of the night is when everyone is leaving, and when asked if they had a good time, they say ‘yes.’ With that motivation, along with The Bronc’s recent Marconi Awards win, everyone working was able to make it through the long night.

“We’re just happy that everybody comes out and enjoys the events that 107.7 The Bronc does. I think these events set us apart from any college radio station in the country,” Mozes said. “They actually set us apart from a lot of radio stations today, period, because they don’t do events like this anymore … but we’re able to pull it off and it’s a little old-school radio in a new media world.”

News Editor Brannagh Rattigan, Sports Editor Joshua Yuhas, Graphic Design Manager Grace Juarez and Copy Editor Teagan Rotella are members of 107.7 The Bronc. They had no part in the writing or editing of this story.