Looking Back at 21 Years of the ASLC
On October 13th, 2021, the ASLC celebrated its twenty-first anniversary. With the help of former and current staff and volunteers, we were able to compile a brief history of the building and some of its most notable moments. While the ASLC (formerly the SLB) has only been around for just over two decades, we found that the groundwork for our on-campus cinema was laid way back in…
The 1970s
During this decade, 50₵ movie nights are programmed at Moore Auditorium and Ruby Diamond. Different films play every night, and they’re mostly classics, like Chaplin. On to the next decade:
The 1980s
Student Campus Entertainment begins to play more films at Moore and in Club Downunder. Bob Howard makes an attempt to start a film society in order to increase the popularity of the screenings. There is an event for a showing of Persona and a discussion afterwards.
The 1990s
Movies at Moore with Café Cinema with CDU begins. In Café Cinema, CDU programs arthouse films that correspond to acoustic performances. While the performances eventually stop, the movie screenings continue. Also during these years, the Seminole party of SGA starts to put aside funds for blockbuster movies, which becomes known as Seminole Theater.
Things really start to pick up at the end of this decade. Here’s what happened from 1997 - 2000:
- The classic film series begins.
- The Film School starts screening their projects, and they help upgrade the Moore AV system.
- The Student Life Building planning committee accepted the idea of adding a movie theatre to space for Housing, Counseling, and NPHC. Bob Howard becomes the building director and starts to advise on the SLC theater.
The 2000s
All of that happened before the building even opened, but it set the stage for the years to come. On October 13, 2000, the Student Life Building (SLB) opens, and that’s the beginning of our recent history. In this decade, the SLB becomes the ASLC, and many of our significant programs are developed and added. Several events from these days have become long-standing traditions.
December 2000 - The Matrix is the first film shown in the SLC
Spring 2001 - Java Blues Coffee Shop and Cyber Café Gaming open
July 2001 - First PC tournaments are held (DOA2, Tekken, and Quake III)
August 2001 - Our first Advance Screening
August 2003 - Animal House is the first midnight movie shown at the SLC
October 2003 - First annual showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
2005 - The Modern Languages Department collaborates on the first Middle East Film Festival
2006 - The Student Life Building is renamed the ASLC, in honor of Governor Reubin O’Donovan Askew
Spring 2008 - Lord of the Rings Trilogy Lock-in
August 2008 - Student Life Cinema establishes its Facebook fan page
September 2008 - Death Race 2000 is the first phantom theater screening
The 2010s
In the 2010s, the ASLC focuses on expanding its programming and its internal teams, particularly within the promotions and gaming departments. During this time, we have some all-star guests from Hollywood, too. How much of this do you remember?
2010 - The week-long Stanley Kubrick Film Festival plays, with actor Vincent D'Onofrio and producer Jan Harlan in attendance
2010 - We print our first in-color brochure schedules
2011 - Game Committee develops an organization charter and Media Team (now VidPro) is established
February 2012 - Game Committee raises its first $417.59 for UF Health Shands Children's Hospital
March 2012 - The first iteration of the SLC Podcast begins
March 2012 - Two Nights Done Wright event features director Edgar Wright introducing and answering questions about Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
August 2012 - Plans begin for the first ever Midnight Horror Short Film Contest at the SLC
September 2012 - Nobel Prize Winner Harry Kroto begins a semester-long lecture series in the SLC
March 2013 - The HBO Game of Thrones Season Three Premiere Party draws record crowds
Spring 2013 - The beginning of our zine, Skewed
May 2014 - The new DCP projector is installed, allowing for state-of-the-art projection, more Advance Screenings, and 3D capability
August 2014 - ASLC alumni get married in the main theater
April 2016 - Greg Sestero visits to do a reading from The Disaster Artist prior to our annual midnight screening of The Room
April 2017 - Critics Dan Murrell and Alicia Malone do a student-facilitated panel discussion following a screening of Wonder Woman
Fall 2017 - Content Committee is established
2019 – The ASLC welcomes a new mascot, Ziggy
2020 and Beyond
The COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges for us all, so at the beginning of this decade, the ASLC has been learning to create digital and socially-distanced programming.
In the summer of 2020, we started this blog, The Stargazer! Then, that October, we collaborated with CDU for the first ever on-campus drive-in, The Nightmare Before Christmas.
A lot has changed for us in the past twenty-one years, but we couldn’t be prouder of where we are today, and all the people who helped us get here. As we look ahead to the future, we feel hopeful and excited about the direction we are headed in. The stars are bright.
Written by & Art by: Cassidy Elibol
Notes and Research Provided by: Bob Howard, Amie Runk
Images Provided by: Bob Howard, Virginia Anzengruber, Bonnie Garcia, Laura Pellini
