Movie nights are great bonding events for oneself and their loved ones, so why not bring them to campus? This is what inspired Svetya Kopisetty and her friends, Eva Nebeling and Estrella Sanchez-Garcia, to unite and make the Movie Club a reality.

The Movie Club is one of many new student organizations that was introduced this spring semester. At the Student Org Fair last month, they drew in the interest of many students who were not just thrilled with the concept of a Movie Club, but what they plan to offer their members. This includes weekly movie viewings with discussion, themed movie nights, discounted AMC/Cinepolis tickets (only on certain days), and field trips to famous movie studios.

“We basically wanted to make a place for which we could watch movies with everyone because we all love watching movies, but we like talking about it too, and I think having a place to talk about it is really fun.” Kopisetty said.

In addition to engaging their members in lively discussion and connection, Nebeling shared that another goal of the club is to be a place where everyone, regardless of year or major, feels included and welcome. They also hope to gain as much funding as possible so that members don’t have to pay out of pocket for field trips.

The idea of a club came to fruition when Sanchez-Garcia and Kopisetty were working on a computer science project together and started bonding over a movie they put on in the background. After that, Kopisetty found that there wasn’t a dedicated club on campus for movies, which motivated her to recruit Sanchez-Garcia and Nebeling to make CSUSM’s first ever Movie Club.

Their most recent event was a Y2K themed movie showing on February 21st, which was also their first event of the semester. During the event, the club had a variety of snacks, watched a 2000s movie, and created a club Letterboxd at the end. Their next event will be on February 27,  which will be their Watch and Work event happening in ELB 430 at 5:30 pm. Members are encouraged to work on assignments, bring snacks, and vote on a movie before the event.

Their primary mode of communication is through word of mouth and Instagram. The club is open to all students, and they host weekly and monthly events.

Note: Though their account is private, they still encourage all students to request them.