A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION Vol. CXLIII, Issue 7
@roundupnews
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025
‘Frankenstein’ comes to life at Pierce College
CAMPUS LIFE
NEWS pg. 4
Academic Senate Sandra Mazas / Roundup News
pg. 6 Administration decorations Damian Celedon / Roundup News
PHOTO ESSAY pg. 8
Pumpkin patch
Alissa Nguyen / Roundup News
2 Opinion
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Editor-in-Chief..........Abraham Elizalde Managing Editor..............Violet Garcia Photo Editor...................Karla Delgado Photo Editor................Myraneli Fabian News Editor.................Zamourad Iqbal Campus Life Editor.........Emily Garcia Opinion Editor...........Melanie Somoza Sports Editor....................David Cohen Copy Editor................Gerardo Escobar Online Editor...............Daisy Aguinada Reporters Natalie Baharian Gabriella Carlos Emileo Carreon Brianna Fuerte Ivy Jade Garry Elizabeth Holodnak Tim Lewis Olivia Muñoz Chris Rubinstein Leah Sklarski Photographers Josue Aguilar Damian Celedon Cherie Clark Bryce Edwards Calvin Henry Melanie Jurado Sandra Mazas Alissa Nguyen Jesus Rivas Advisers Jill Connelly Jeff Favre Tracie Savage Morgan Keith
Ali Suliman plays the Creature in the play “Frankenstein” at the Performing Arts Center at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct 21, 2025. Photo by Melanie Jurado
Editorial: From the desk of the Roundup
Press freedoms must be protected on campus
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very Wednesday at Pierce College, students rush to grab The Roundup newspaper. Reporters are excited to read their work and meet with the staff to share their input on the issue. But that’s not what happened recently at the Indiana Daily Student, a prestigious student-run newspaper at Indiana University that was not allowed to publish its print issue because it conflicted with the school administration’s policy. The Roundup newspaper editorial board believes its important to remind the public that school newspapers have First amendment protections. The recent firing of Indiana University’s Director of Student Media once again threatens the future of academic and press freedom for students. According to an Associated Press News
School is a learning platform where teachers and staff prepare students for real-world experiences. The first thing they teach is Media Law and how to apply it effectively to hold authority figures accountable, while ensuring they are not liable or misinformed. In recent times, students’ academic and press freedom have been gradually diminishing due to various issues, including writing opeds and covering campus protests. An article in the Colombian Journalism Review, published on April 17 by Lauren Watson, “Student Journalists Wrestle with Censoring Their own Work,” quoted Chris Evans, Rice Thresher media adviser at Rice University in Houston, who said international students had asked the paper to take down an article featuring him. They didn’t take the piece down because of the journalist’s ethics. According to Evans, the student newspaper should
have clear policies for situations like this. “Many of these students will be professional journalists in a few weeks, a few months, or a few years,” Evans said. “They’re developing these standards now, and it’s going to deeply impact the journalism industry moving forward.” The fight for press freedom is ongoing, and student journalists must stand up to protect their rights. It impacts not only student journalists but also teachers and society as a whole. It threatens the fundamental rights and the fabric of American democracy. In Pierce College’s history, neither the administration nor faculty members has ever interfered with students’ press freedom. It never seeks to prevent student editors from determining which content is allowed to be published for print or digital issues, and these rules should apply to all colleges and schools rather than depriving students of their fundamental rights.
Column: Halloween traditions best left in the past
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article, “Indiana University fires student newspaper advisor who refused to block news stories,” The Indiana Daily Student newspaper was ready to publish its Homecoming print edition, featuring various news sections. Jim Rodenbush, director of Student Media, was fired two days before the scheduled printing, and IU ordered students to publish the news online. The New York Times article “Dispute Over Indiana College Newspaper Draws Censorship Accusations” included a statement from Rodenbush: “I wouldn’t participate in the censorship of the paper,” Rodenbush said. Undermining students’ press freedom raises concerns about the future of journalism. If any academic institution, on any given day, decides that a news section will not be published and dictates to student journalists what kind of news content they should produce or should show, that’s clearly censorship.
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he tradition of Halloween is being celebrated all across the world, and less people are realizing the dark origin that started off the holiday. It has been a tradition ever since the late 1800s, according to an article from International Experience. Also, it is said that it started as a way to either blend in or avoid evil spirits. Halloween is often
seen as an innocent holiday where people can dress up as whoever they want to be, decorate their houses with fun and colorful attractions for their neighbors to see and go around the streets asking for candy. Although I do understand the excitement surrounding the holiday, I believe that it is a tradition that is best left in the past and people should understand the evil meaning behind the celebration. I come from a religious household where my parents taught me the ethics of being a Catholic from a young age. One of the teachings I learned was that Halloween came from a dark origin that most people skim over. According to History. com, Halloween started as a tradition by the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where people light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off evil spirits. It has slowly transitioned to today’s version of Halloween where society wears costumes to parties or
trick-or-treating with family varying from superheroes toserial killers from popular movies or funny characters. While the Bible does not directly say anything about Halloween or its traditions, it often provides principles that Catholics should follow against Halloween activites. In the Bible, it is said in Ephesians 5:11 “Have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Halloween, to my eyes, is celebrating evil. Taking a tradition that started as a way to repelevil spirits has now become an innocent excuse to go against the principles of being Catholic. Although I am coming from a Catholic standpoint, there are also a number of reasons non-religiouspeople should avoid celebrating the holiday. For example, partying, trick-or-treating and even dressing up are not safe. According to Northeastern University, violent crime rates can rise up to 50% on
Halloween. These crimes can be due to a variety of reasons, such as the increase of parties, the amount of people in the streets and the ability of criminals to get away with illegal activities knowing that police will be occupied. The innocent act of trickor-treating is putting kids at risk. Along with an increase in crime, there are also more car accidents, with drunk driving being the key contributor. According to The Dawspit Law Firm, pedestrian deaths increase by 43% on Halloween. And with a decrease in the number of people going out trick-or-treating, the tradition is not as memorable as it once was. While I do not celebrate Halloween because of religious beliefs, I still believe that the holiday is dangerous and unethical for everyone.
Opinion 3
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Pro/Con: Should trick-or-treating still be a tradition? By Elizabeth Holodnak Reporter
O Everyone should experience trickor-treating
ver the years, many people have begun to see trick-or-treating as something only children should do. But this Halloween tradition shouldn’t fade away just because people are getting older, and it can be a beneficial experience for children. Trick-or-treating is more than collecting candy; it’s about connection, memories, creativity and community. In a world that feels increasingly divided, people need traditions such as this more than ever. College students, for example, face overwhelming
By Brianna Fuerte Reporter
T Trick-or-treating is dangerous and unhealthy
rick-or-treating is a classic Halloween tradition where kids go out late at night, dressed up in their costumes, knocking on strangers’ doors and asking for candy. However, it might be time to retire the old tradition for other healthier and safer activities. The main goal of trick-ortreating is to collect as much candy as possible. What better time to stock up for the rest of the year than Halloween? It’s known that kids love candy. The sweet sugary goodness of Skittles or the chocolate richness of a Twix bar, they love it all, sometimes, a little too well. According to USA Today,
stress, tight schedules and pressure to perform. According to Jay’Mi Vazquez from TheSouthernNews. org, “participating in trickor-treating allows students to reconnect with their childhood, offering a much-needed break from academic life.” There is a community aspect that’s often overlooked. Trickor-treating connects neighbors who might not otherwise speak to each other all year. Kerri Ana Provost from RealHartford. org explains that Halloween “lets people, young and old, experience their neighborhood in a more direct way.” Unlike driving by houses everyday without noticing them, trick-or-
treating pulls people outside, face to face, reminding them that their community is full of living, breathing people, and not just strangers. The Collaborative for Children emphasizes “When your child joins other children in your neighborhood for some trick-or-treating, that child actively experiments with emotional and social roles.” By encouraging them to interact with neighbors and peers. They learn manners, confidence and the value of community. When children knock on a door and say “trick-or-treat” they receive a smile and a handful of candy, they experience kindness from strangers, something that builds
trust and self esteem. A powerful lesson in today’s world, where fear of others often replaces friendliness. Trick-or-treating is not a thing of the past, it’s a reminder of what community looks like when people actually participate in it. It’s about dressing up, making memories with your loved ones and keeping traditions alive. We can’t afford to lose connections that make us human. Keeping this tradition alive keeps neighborhoods vibrant, friendships strong and the spirits of Halloween alive.
kids consume around 7,000 calories and eat up to around three to four cups of sugar on that night alone. The American Heart Association recommends kids have less than 25 grams of sugar (or six teaspoons) a day. If sugar is overconsumed at an early age, like what kids do on Halloween, it can cause type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and is linked to obesity. This can then cause heart problems later in life. However, it’s not just the sugar in candy that causes worry, but the danger of finding needles or razor blades inside is still an ongoing reality. A child reported needles in their candy after a homecoming event from their school in Santa Fe, Texas, where police were called and warned parents to check their candy on Oct. 21, 2025.
The ongoing terror of possibly accidentally consuming a needle or razor blade is the reality many face if they choose to participate in trick-or-treating. ands of people end up in the emergency room due to Halloween-related injuries. According to CNN, children are more likely to be struck and killed by vehicles while trick-or-treating than on any other night of the year. A study done by JAMA Pediatrics to see if Halloween was more dangerous found that during the night of Halloween, pedestrian fatality was 43% higher than on other nights. This is all with the fact that, overall, trick-or-treating has seen a decline over the years. According to a poll done by USA Today, in 2023, 74% respondents reported having fewer trick-or-treaters come by. There is no definitive
answer as to why, but The Anvil theorizes that it’s due to the rising cost of living, the fact that Halloween lands on weekdays instead of weekends, and that it’s being taken over by a new event called trunk-ortreat, which involves a bunch of cars giving out candy from their trunk in a parking lot. There are safer ways to enjoy the spookiness of Halloween without the dangers that come with it, trunk-or-treat being one of them, but also community parties, scary movie nights, and themed scavenger hunts are all examples. Trick-or-Treat is a tradition that will be known for years, but with the dangers that come with it, parents should reconsider allowing their kids to go out late at night simply for some candy.
Have you ever had a paranormal experience? Interviews by Leah Sklarski Photos by Bryce Edwards
“During Thanksgiving, I heard my door close three times and my whole family heard. We knew no one was there and another time I heard stomping coming up my stairs and I checked and nobody was there either.” Natalia Downey Undecided
“One night the lights shut out in my house and all of a sudden I heard a small child crying from the second floor and went to go turn on the lights and no one was there.” Harris Malakzai Nursing Major
“One time when I was touring the Queen Mary I was walking and I felt a pinch on my achilles tendon and nobody was behind me. I thought my friends were messing with me but no it was something else.” Paige Nelson Film Major
“When I was in elementary, we had been telling ghosts stories so we were already in a scary mindset mood, and we walk into the bathroom and all of a sudden the lights went out and the water turned on and we got scared and ran out.” Valerie Jimenez Biology Major
“My dad’s best friend went out of town with his wife and stayed at this really old hotel and as he was going to sleep he looked in the mirror and saw a little girl standing in the corner.” Coral Benitez Music Major
4 News
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Academic Senate talks transfer programs, Halloween events By Olivia Muñoz Reporter
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he Academic Senate met on Monday, Oct. 27, in Building 600 and began with a spooky start by recognizing several Halloween-themed campus events. Associated Students Organization (ASO) President Emma Ortega announced a few of the events that they are hosting this week, leading up to Halloween. Along with the Film Club Scare Maze on Monday and the International Student Society Halloween Potluck on Wednesday, the Peer to Peer Mentor Program and ASO partnered up to create the Halloween Pumpkin and Paints event on Thursday, which Ortega said was created to foster community on campus. “A lot of the events we have are to give students a break, and we’ve gotten a lot of feedback from students that having these social events is really nice because you can step out of your classes,” Ortega said. “The campus feels a little safer when there’s community and these events happening.” Ortega said that events like Pumpkin and Paints also give students a space to relax and decompress. “I’ve always liked having an event on campus where you can rest your mind for a few minutes and do a task that’s fun or creative,” Ortega said. “So, I feel like that also helps with boosting morale
and mental health because you’re getting a break, and it’s a rest from your classes.” The Academic Affairs building was praised for its extensive Halloween decorations, including a “Beetlejuice”themed display. While discussing the decorations, Aguiar shared a childhood memory of the holiday. “The first words I ever said in English were probably trick or treat,” Aguiar said. “I arrived here on Oct., 31, 1963, in California, and when I got off the plane, they had costumes and grocery bags. I knocked on people’s doors, saying ‘Trick or treat’, and I had no idea what I was doing or saying. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.” Pierce College is officially the first community college in the nation to feature an artificial intelligencepowered biomedical research program through CedarsSinai’s National AI Campus program. The program will have students collaborate with AI to research practical biomedical issues and solutions, according to the Communications Office. Transfer Center Director Sunday Salter highlighted several transfer opportunities and programs for students during college application season, including a guaranteed-admission program to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This program includes grants up to $5,000 for students transferring from out of state.
“It’s such a beautiful opportunity for so many of our students,” Salter said. “Unfortunately, there are many costs for students to travel out of state to go to college anywhere, but especially to move to these schools, which have high tuition fees. So, the HBCU program is amazing.” Salter also encouraged faculty members to raise awareness of the Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship, which is open to students with a 3.5 GPA or higher and a household income of less than $95,000. The application is open until Jan. 7, 2026. Aguiar reviewed the College Administration report, which detailed several updates to the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), including a new LACCD logo rolled out earlier that day. Enrollment updates were also included in the report. Enrollment is up five percent since the beginning of the semester, jumping from 16,600 to 18,300 students. “This was a big jump for us,” Aguiar said. “Headcount is up about 10%. It was a two percent jump from the first eight weeks till now, which is great.” Aguiar also announced that a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Dec. 5 for a new Child Development Academic Building, with Chancellor Alberto Román in attendance. The next Academic Senate meeting will be on Nov. 10 in Building 600.
Sandra Mazas / Roundup News
Academic Senate President Margarita Pillado speaks at an Academic Senate meeting in Building 600 at Pierce College in Woodlands Hills, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2025.
Pierce to use artificial intelligence for breast cancer research By Gabriella Carlos Reporter
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ierce College Council’s latest meeting focused on STEM research project collaborations, campus construction and sustainability development on Zoom on Thursday, Oct. 23. Pierce College President Ara Aguiar said Pierce is focusing on the Math, Engineering, Science, Achievement (MESA) program for students and the upcoming research project in collaboration with Cedars Sinai. “We’re the first community college in the country to align and be part of this research project at Cedar Sinai, where they’re going to be using AI to research breast cancer,” Aguiar said. “We had a panel of people that are going to be working on this project, and it
was very exciting.” Project Manager Soufiane Boudiaf discussed plans for new construction at Rocky Young Park and the Center for Sciences. “It’s the place that’s almost in the heart of the campus in terms of real estate. We don’t have any kind of ‘big door’ to say that this is the main entrance,” Boudiaf said. “It’s going to be a curved area, so we want to build it like somebody’s hugging you, welcoming them to our sight. We want to give an identity to the main entrance.” Boudiaf shared that they are working on a new system on the other side of the speech area. Plans to include more trees, shading areas, tables, space for scooters and electric bikes, and a stage for commencement. “Rocky Young is going to be the source that we’re going
to refer to, to have something coherent to the entire campus,” Boudiaf said. “You want to have a landscape that makes sense to the entire campus.” Heat mitigation is also planned for the project, as well as redoing the existing silver line in Rocky Young Park beginning Dec. 26. Sustainability Committee Representative Brian Gendron announced future goals for campus sustainability and how the committee plans to find a solution for the institution. “Our discussion focused on identifying the areas of sustainability throughout the entire campus and identifying individuals and constituent groups that are contributing to each of those areas,” Gendron said. “Hopefully we are identifying the relevant stakeholders in these areas so we can get their input and their thoughts on goals
and strategies. Lots of work to go, but the end goal is a sustainability master plan at Pierce.” Aguiar spoke about Pierce’s participation in Vision 2030, a statewide initiative to align community college goals with California’s higher education priorities. “All of the senior staff and a few deans will be attending the Vision 2030 conference with the chancellor and other Los Angeles County colleges,” Aguiar said. “The intent is to get the status of what is happening at the state level of funding and aligning our strategies with Vision 2030.” The upcoming sustainability committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 21, on Zoom.
a Brahm Blotter Reporting by Zamourad Iqbal
Crime Log
No crimes were reported between the dates of Oct. 21 and Oct. 28. The crime log is made publicly available at the Pierce College Sheriff’s Office. Pierce College Sheriff’s Office General Information 818-719-6450
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Emergency 818-710-4311
Campus Life 5
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Review: Pierce Theatre skillfully showcases gothic drama By Natalie Baharian Reporter
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on’t be deceived by the mysterious fog and complex set design when you attend “Frankenstein” at Pierce College, now showing until Nov. 2. Through the peculiar mist of drama and darkness, Pierce Theatre Department’s interpretation of “Frankenstein” skillfully compares moral responsibility with humanity between a creator and his creation. “Frankenstein,” originally a Gothic novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818 was then adapted into a play five years later. Both the book and the play take place in a variety of settings, from Frankenstein’s homeland Geneva in Switzerland to Ingolstadt, Germany, where the creature was first created. The play dives into the perspectives of both Victor Frankenstein, an obsessive scientist that craves to break the boundaries of life and death and the Creature, the abandoned aftermath of Victor’s experimentation. During the play, there are quite a few instances that explore the moral conflict between pride and guilt, with no clear answer. Each scene gives us a glimpse into their character as they are. Following the accomplishment of bringing the dead back to life, Victor abandons his creation out of shock at his grotesque and unsettling appearance. This single action would go on to unravel into a series of tragedies and come to confront Victor as he grapples with ambition. Under the direction of Shaheen Vaz, the head of Pierce’s acting and directing programs, this story of morality takes shape on the stage. The gothic drama begins with the recently brought-tolife creature as he stumbles, similarly to that of a newborn, all alone left to explore a world completely new to him. After escaping the laboratory from which he was created, he ventures into a forest, leaving behind the chemical apparatuses and is met with local town folk that react very negatively towards him. The Creature, played by Shane Chung, portrays him as initially being very confused by his surroundings and is engulfed with curiosity as he begins to explore it. With nothing to protect him from the cold but a piece of cloth, Chung gives a very humanistic
Melanie Jurado / Roundup News
(Left to right) Ali Suliman (Creature) and Trevor Bowens (De Lacey) perform ‘Frankenstein’ onstage at the Performing Arts Center at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct 21, 2025. depiction that evokes the audience’s pity. Throughout the play, there are multiple scenes that continue to shed light on the struggles the creature faces and how it would later shape his state of mind towards others. Such as his unintentional encounter with the elderly blind woman, DeLacey,played by Terri Chase, who would go on to teach him language, philosophy, and literature. Unfortunately, this positive relationship turns sour for him after his appearance is finally revealed to her family. This moment really creates a space of disheartenment as he processes the fact that he was abandoned by the very man that created him but also the reason for his sadness was rooted in solitary. He comes to the understanding that because of his appearance, he will never be accepted into society. Later on, the play shifts the perspective to Victor, played by Ali Suliman, who finally realizes that not only was his creation still alive, as well as completely self-aware. Even if his ambition had gone too far, his intentions were
never to do harm but to push the boundaries of science and discover something extraordinarily unique. Witnessing the Creature finally confront his master with words of bitterness and a testament to causing similar harm, it’s extremely fascinating to see how the power-dynamic changes as Victor grasps that what he has made may have just outsmarted him. As the play continues to unravel, Victor and his creation plummet into despair, constantly trapped by the actions of the other, eventually making it difficult to establish the victim and the villain. Now, it’s your time to decide. Was Victor in the wrong? The Creature? Or both? “Frankenstein” will be showing from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2 in the Performing Arts Mainstage Theater. The showtimes for Fridays and Saturdays are 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for Pierce students and $20 for general admissions.
Melanie Jurado / Roundup News
(Right) Haley Anglin (Gretel/Agatha) and Tobey Chapman (Gustav) during the play ‘Frankenstein’ at the Performing Arts Center at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct 21, 2025.
6 Campus Life
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Administration Building goes all in on October decorations By Ivy Jade Garry Reporter
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omething is scary about the Administration Building, Of course! The Halloween decorations are up! It’s that time of year when the Administration Building get re-vamped for the Halloween season. Departments throughout the Administration Building have decorated from floor to ceiling with themed doormats and handmade floating candles all to spread the Halloween spirit! The Department of Academic Affairs chose this year’s theme of Tim Burton movies for the building. Administrative Assistant for Adult and Continuing Education Chelise Gonzales said she works in the Academic Affairs office which is decorated using “The Nightmare Before Christmas” theme. Each staff member is assigned a character from the movie and their desk is furnished accordingly. “I enjoy Tim Burton movies, they’re quirky and I like that about them. They’re fun to watch.” Gonzalez said.
Executive Assistant to the Pierce President Malina Koani said her office is cloaked in black and white striped fabric, green lights and the infamous sand worm from the movie “Beetlejuice.” “My daughters came in and helped me set up the arch and the girls in Academic Affairs helped put a bunch of things up,” Koani said. “Just to get the top decor up and the arch, which is actually my Christmas arch from home, we ripped off the old lights and pine cones and added the green lights, took about three hours.” Faculty and staff worked together to bring their spaces to the theme of Time Burton by shopping for decorations and crafting many handmade projects. Administrative Assistant for Language and Arts Emily Andrade said the difficult part of this year’s theme was handcrafting the decorations. “It’s fun to decorate, this year there was a lot of DIYing that made it more stressful than last year because the theme was ‘Harry Potter’ and there is so much merchandise out there for that,” Andrade said. “The merchandise for ‘A
Nightmare before Christmas’ mainly involves the main characters, and it’s not generic so we had to make a lot ourselves.” Like other staff, Gonzales brought past decorations from home to reuse for the office. “My husband and I did some ‘A Nightmare Before Christmas’ decorating a couple years ago at home, so some of the things I use here I’m reusing from that,” Gonzales said. Administrative Operations Technician for Social Science and Wellness Shant Varozian brought a queen of hearts doormat from his home that reads “Off with your shoes,” which ties in with the “Alice in Wonderland” theme in the Honors Department of the building. “A lot of people that walk in, whether its faculty, other staff or students, always throw us a compliment,”Shant said. “It’s livened up the space and it’s nice to have color on the walls.” The decor around the Administration Building brings the Halloween spirit to campus. The decorations will be complete by Monday for students and staff to see.
Damian Celedon / Roundup News
Damian Celedon / Roundup News Damian Celedon / Roundup News
Dean of Academic Affairs Mary Anne Gavarra-Oh wears a witch hat while working in the Administration Building at Pierce College, Woodland Hills Calif., on Oct. 27, 2025.
TOP: A skeleton decoration at the Administration Building in Pierce College in Woodland Hills Calif., on Oct. 22, 2025. TOP: Halloween decorations at the Administration Building in Pierce College in Woodland Hills Calif., on Oct. 22, 2025.
Entertainment 7
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Five horror films for a frightening Halloween Friday By Chris Rubinstein Reporter
Alien (1979)
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irected by Ridley Scott, “Alien” is a science fiction movie that follows a team of researchers venturing out into space as they make a detour to get some alien eggs. However, things go wrong once one of the eggs hatches. Ash, a character from the movie described the creature as “the perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.” The film presents a beautiful and terrifying theme for the audience. Famed movie critic G e n e Siskel o n c e called this movie a “glorified haunted house film”. This is a very slow movie and for a creature feature, you don’t see much of the creature. Instead, much of the movie is spent arguing about what to do next, running down narrow hallways and slowly searching for nooks and crannies that the alien might be hiding in. This is the original tried and true Sci-Fi horror movieand a damn good one too. But don’t let the name fool you. The real horror of this movie isn’t the living killing machine scampering around the halls of the Nostromo. But rather, the very real villain that we see reflected in everyday life, the capitalistic companies that rule over us that couldn’t care less about whether we live or die, that instead only care about one thing, profit. While one could say that it’s just a haunted house film in space, by God it is the best haunted house film that cinema has to offer.
Hereditary (2018)
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sychological horror film “Hereditary,” directed by Ari Aster, plays on themes of grief and loss. With “Hereditary,” Aster presented grief from the very start, making drama primary and horror secondary. The film chronicles a family that recently lost their matriarch, whom each member had mixed feelings about. As the film goes on, the family begins to learn more about this woman and strange things
start to happen around the household. During an emotional scene at the dinner table the mother, played by Toni Collette, tells her son, “I never wanted to be your mother.” One thing I love about this film is just how miserable it is. You have a family that is already at a very low point in their lives, and you’re just compounding it with even more misery. We don’t even start to see anything truly supernatural until the second half of the movie, and yet it’s everything in the first half that terrifies me more than anything else. I have been to funerals before. I’ve heard the cries of mothers who have lost their children, of husbands who have lost their wives,
and of children who have lost their parents or siblings. It’s not a scream that you can forget. Tony Collette lets out a horrifying blood-curdling scream of anguish that sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it. There is no jumpscare that can match it. No piece of body horror can make me that uncomfortable. No scene makes me sadder than the scream of someone who has lost something incredibly dear to them. That is the heart of what makes this movie horrifying.
The Thing (1982)
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irected by John Carpenter, science fiction horror production “The Thing” that follows a group of researchers at an outpost in Antarctica that discovers a creature from outer space that mimics other life forms and slowly multiplies itself to take over everything around it. “Where were you, Childs?” is a phrase I can still hear bouncing across the corners of my skull whenever I think about this movie. This movie has 12 main characters, and rarely any of them fall into any particular horror trope. For most horror movies, 12 would be too many characters to keep track of. MacReady has his hair and his overall “cool guy” demenor. Childs snarls at everything and is the most stand offish. Blair is the most
paranoid and the biggest wild card of the group. Nauls Rollerskates. Clark is the unnerving oddball. And so on and so forth. All of the characters have their own quirks but they all share one common trait. They’re all smart. Everyone is trying their best to figure this thing out, especially our main character MacReady, who is constantly coming up with tests, making plans, and coming up with strategies on how to find and kill the shapeshifting threat. But you can’t talk about this movie without mentioning it’s most iconic attribute: the body horror. This might not be a horror movie that really gives me a jolt, but the practical effects that an estimated 1.5
million dollars were spent on still make my skin crawl, anytime I look at it. This movie is full of disgusting, skin-crawling body horror. It’s claustrophobic, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s witty.
The Shining (1980)
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sychological horror film “The Shining” is directed by Stanley Kubrick. He adapts Stephen King’s story of a mild-mannered, goodhearted family man caving to the evils of a haunted hotel and eventually lashing out at his innocent family due to insanity. The movie tells the story of a family housesitting a hotel in the mountains where they are confined to each other for five long months in the winter. The longer they stay, the more their mental fortitude and sanity are tested as the hotel reveals the horrors that have plagued its history. In the book, main character Jack Torrance unconditionally loves his family and would never do anything to hurt them. As the story moves forward, we see him become agitated and lash out at his wife and son, eventually attempting to kill them. In Kubrick’s film, you wonder from the very beginning as to whether Jack likes his family at all. When his behavior about mistreating his wife and sonare brought up to him, he just shrugs them off. One of the things I love about this movie is the way
Kubrick uses architecture. Throughout the film, The hotel shifts and contorts in the background almost as if it’s trying to make sure that the family that is locked in the belly of this evil place never leaves. There is no question that terrifies me more than that last one and due to the layout of this movie we will never get a concrete answer to any of them.
Sinners (2025)
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smash summer box office hit, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” is a gothic horror film that plays on themes of cultural identity, historical past and family. This movie
is definitely the most debatable featured on this list. Some would say it’s only half a horror movie due to its pacing, and others would say there are too many other genres meshed in for it to be considered a horror movie.
“Sinners” is about gangster twins Smoke and Stack who have finished their time working for Al Capone in Chicago and have moved back to their rightful home in the Mississippi Delta in the hopes to open a juke joint. A juke joint is an establishment full of songs, food, and community that is meant to harbor the black community and make them forget about their strife, especially in 1930s America. This movie’s about two things, community and music. The two halves of this movie represent the good and bad that you can do with those things. One of our main characters, Sammy Moore, represents the good because hebrings people together with his music. When the twins are trying to recruit people to help out with the joint, it is often his music that finally convinces them to come along. We see that even though people have their problems with the twins, they are willing to put their differences aside because they don’t have much. It’s them against the world, and nothing’s more powerful than that.
8 Photo Essay
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Haystacks and harmonies during harvest season
TOP: The California Cavalry band finishes their set and thanks the crowd at the Seasonal Adventures Pumpkin Patch near the Farm Center at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct. 25, 2025. Photo by Josue Aguilar LEFT: (Left to right) Giovanni Valdovinos and Rubi Valdovinos feed one of the goats in the petting zoo at the Seasonal Adventures Pumpkin Patch near the Farm Center at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct. 24, 2025. Photo by Josue Aguilar RIGHT: Scarecrow and pumpkin decorations are scattered all around the Seasonal Adventrues Pumpkin Patch at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on October 21, 2025. Photo by Alissa Nguyen.