collegian.tccd.edu
Jason lives. The impact of the horror movie icon. PG. 2
Wednesday, October 21, 2020 – Volume 33 • Issue 8 News
Entertainment
Opinion
Opinion
Editorial
VOTING IN TEXAS Limited mail-in voting options spark controversy. PG. 1
TERRIFYING TALE Classic horror story influences new netflix series. PG. 2
CHECK YOUR RACIST COSTUMES How cultural appropriation in costumes affects minorities. PG. 3
AMBIGUITY IN HORROR Why scary movies can have an impact without jump scares. PG. 3
TRICK OR TREAT SAFETY How to be safe celebrating Halloween this year. PG. 3
DISTRICT
Being active is vital for health in a pandemic SABLE WILLIAMS reporter
Photo courtesy Adobe Stock
Absentee voters have the option to deliver their ballots in person to avoid potential postal delays for the 2020 Election.
DISTRICT
Texans given few options for safer voting during pandemic ALYSON OLIVER campus camp us editor
Texas has given its voters scarce options to avoid risking exposure to COVID-19 this election. Access to absentee ballots is limited. “I think that our government needs to work a lot harder to make sure that everyone has a chance to make their voice heard while feeling safe,” TR student and government association historian Kaitlyn Moore said. According to the Texas Tribune, many states have made mail-in voting easier and more accessible to their residents in response to the pandemic, but the restrictive qualifications for absentee voting in Texas have not changed, meaning applicants must be seniors, have a disability, be out of the country during the election or be incarcerated but still eligible to vote in order to meet the requirements. “Many people do not qualify for absentee voting, which leads to several people just forgoing voting altogether, and obviously this is a huge problem,” Moore said. Governor Greg Abbott has expressed con-
cerns about security, although experts disagree that mail-in voting is unsafe, according to the Texas Tribune. “I think instead of just saying it is fraudulent, then there should’ve been more investments put in place to ensure that there are more workers and ballots with clear instructions to allow more people to use this method of voting,” NW student Taylor Travis said. On top of the already restrictive qualifications, Abbott limited absentee ballot drop-off locations to one per county, according to the Texas Tribune. At these drop-off sites, voters are able to deliver their own ballots themselves and eliminate the risk of postal delays. Since this order even applied to larger, more populated areas such as Harris County, which covers approximately 1,700 square miles, it raised some concerns about possible voter suppression, the Texas Tribune said. Crowding people together at one site, without consistent sanitization between visitors, sounds just as risky as going to vote in person, Travis said. According to the Texas Tribune, the order was recently overridden by Travis County
judge Tim Sulak, and there can now be more than one drop-off location per county. However, there is still only one site in Tarrant County. Earlier in the year, six days were added to the early voting period in Texas, the Texas Tribune said. Voters may also deliver their mail-in ballots prior to Election Day. “Extending the deadline for voting is smart,” South student Sarah Taiclet said. She added that she believes the deadline could be extended further. “I think that this is a sufficient amount of time,” Moore said. “Many people have been able to prepare for this influx of mail-in ballots. So, I have confidence that the system they have worked out will work and be accurate.” Travis said, with the expected influx of ballots from immunocompromised people. There should be more time allowed for voting, especially with the decline in federal funding for the U.S. Postal Service, potential mail delays and “the need to properly count and sort all of the ballots by Election Day,” she added. “Votes matter, every single one,” Taiclet said. “It’s important the people of the U.S. have a voice.”
TCC exercise facilities are closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and students are finding new ways to get physically active. Students are turning to the internet for ideas because they must be more careful in public gyms, be aware of their surroundings and wear a mask, TR physical education instructor Kelly Broomfield said. “This has forced students to become more creative with their workouts, using things they have at home, YouTubing or googling workouts to do in their homes instead of in public,” Broomfield said. It is hard to stay motivated when a lot of group activities are canceled, NE student Ashley Cunningham said.“I’ve been trying to include more outdoor games to keep working out more fun.” TCC student Beau Baker has found outdoor activities to be his new workout norm changing his whole workout routine. Baker said the last few months have been hard, and depression and stress related to the pandemic have made it difficult to find the motivation to do anything at times. “If you are lucky enough to live by trails like me, you can still easily bike, hike, and jog whenever you want,” Baker said. Broomfield said working out is a huge stress relief and good for confidence and self-esteem, so even in the midst of students’ hectic schedules, it is important to take some time each week for self care, including physical exercise and getting outside. “It’s especially important during these scary and unnerving times (with the pandemic) to take care of ourselves physically, emotionally and mentally,” she said. Even just a little physical activity is better than doing nothing, Broomfield said. “If working out doesn’t come easy or naturally to you, I always recommend starting slow and having a workout partner,” she said.
“If you are lucky enough to live by trails like me, you can still easily bike, hike, and jog whenever you want.”
Beau Baker
TCC student
NORTHWEST
Student writers craft short stories for creative writing competition VANESSA SUGGS reporter
NW student activities are pairing up with the Creative Writing Club in hosting a short story competition to celebrate Halloween. Both will gather student submissions for a chance to win a grand prize and have their work read online on the student activities’ Blackboard page. Participation in the event started off as a submission requirement of a science fiction short story to celebrate the month of October. However, both the Creative Writing Club and student activities decided to allow short stories of any type as well as other literary content from poems and plays to nonfiction. Students
passionate about writing but not interested in science fiction or short stories will now not be excluded. The original science fiction idea was pitched by the TCC student development coordinator Holden Childress after a late-night viewing of the film “The Vast of Night,” which he said was reminiscent of an old 1930s radio broadcast mixed with Rod Sterling’s storytelling in “The Twilight Zone.” According to Childress, any TCC student can submit one piece of work they would like to be read. “We have reached out to our theater department to recruit drama students interested in reading aloud the grand prize winner’s work in a virtual environment if the winner is comfortable with that,” Childress said.
Other than that, the grand prize is still in the works. Student Activities is known to serve students with engaging, entertaining, and educational events, so this collaboration was just one of many ideas to get students involved into “niche” subjects. This collaboration is the first that many have seen from Student Activities that there has been a literary based event that has the potential to benefit tremendously from the passion for the content. “I took a creative writing class in high school, and I loved it,” student Deyuan Sanchez said. “I had no idea that TCC had a club just for that. It’s cool to see that student activities are helping spread awareness of other clubs.” As time in the pandemic has gone by,
Childress says “this has been unlike anything Student Activities has seen.” Student activities are said to have seen a stable increase in student involvement, where some events now yield higher attendance than on-campus events. “We are using this virtual space to experiment with fresh ideas that we could see carried over upon return to campus,” Childress said. So far, there are as many submissions as expected, however, both the Creative Writing club and Student Activities hope to see more toward the end of the month. TCC student Iveth Villegas said, “With everything going on right now, it’s nice to see student activities pair up.
Page 2 • October 21 , 2020
Entertainment
SERIES REVIEW
A look back at an iconic horror franchise
Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Jason launches an all out assault on Trish and Tommy Jarvis in the fourth movie of the Friday the 13th franchise. Trish fights back to protect her little brother.
MICHAEL FOSTER-SANDERS editor-in-chief
When director Sean S. Cunningham and screenwriter Victor Miller threw together a cheap, quick-cash grab film named Friday the 13th to capitalize on the exploding horror movie slasher genre in 1980, little did they know they would create a franchise that has spanned four decades. The 12-movie series can be broken down into three sagas that overlap each other, but the focus here will be the first four films. The first film simply titled Friday the 13th tells the tragic backstory of Jason Voorhess’s death, due to drowning by non-supervision of camp counselors Sept. 13,1957 at Camp Crystal Lake. The downing and murder of two counselors shuts down the camp. Closed for over two decades, entrepreneur Steve Christy decides to open the camp again despite the warning from local towns-
people that the place is cursed and misfortune comes to those who try to reopen the camp. Christy decides not to take the townspeople’s ramblings seriously and hires help to renovate the camp, but when the help starts dying one by one will anyone survive the night? Friday the 13th works because it’s more of Whodunit mystery and horror mashup and not a flat out horror movie that will have viewers racking their brain about who the killer is. Legendary special effects artist Tom Savini makes each kill memorable and gory, which sets it apart from its competitors at the time. Composer Harry Manfredini’s haunting score in the soundtrack for this day of death, and the famous Ki-Ki-Ki-Ki Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma makes its debut here also. The sequel takes place four years after the aftermath of the murders of the first film. The lone survivor Alice Hardy is trying to
In the sequel to the original film Jason Voorhees seeks revenge after seeing his mother decapitated. He did not get his trademark hockey mask until the third movie.
put the pieces of her life back together after her tragic experience at Camp Crystal Lake. Someone enters her apartment, and kills her with no regard. Across from Camp Crystal Lake is Packanack Lodge, and it’s being used as a place to train camp counselors. Paul, the head supervisor of the facility, offers some of the counselors a last night on the town before the training starts. The two cars fill up fast forcing some of the counsellors to stay behind. The killer uses this opportunity to start their massacre. It’s rare that a sequel is better than the original movie, and part two trumps the first film in almost every way. Where the first film tends to drag because of the Whodunit plot with red herrings, the sequel starts off action packed, and keeps the pace throughout. The series main villian Jason Voorhess makes his first appearance as a adult to avenge the murder of his mother. He sports a burlap sack as a mask with a single hole to see. Clearly as homage to the real life serial killer in Texarkana known as the Phantom Killer of 1946. This Jason isn’t the unstoppable force like he is in the later movies. He makes mistakes while hunting would-be victims, which makes these scenes even more intense. The only thing that hurt this movie is that Tom Savini declined to come back for special-effects duty, which the kills are kind of basic. Part three lore takes place in between the second and first movie.Jason attacks Chris Higgins after a family fight in which she flees to the surrounding woods of Higgins Haven, which also sits on Crystal Lake. Out of the original saga, Friday the 13th Part three is the second worst movie. By 1982 copycat movies trying to cash in on the slasher-movie formula started to wear thin on the public with the same wash-rinse-repeat formula. What this movie does have going for it
is Jason finally gets his iconic hockey mask, which is a Halloween-costume staple, and it’s attempt to bring the kills in 3D during its theatrical run. In 1984 Paramount studios had finally had enough being tied to gruesome horror movies. The controversy of slasher films being misogynistic hurt. And famous the late film critic Gene Siskel likened the films to a person getting out of their car to view a horrible car accident, pandering to lurid curiosity and all around tasteless. The film studio decided to kill off Jason once and for all on Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. After being presumed dead after a blow to the head with an axe in Part III, Jason rises again from the coroner office and continues his killing spree. This movie is the best out of the original four, and you can tell Paramount pulled out all stops so Jason can ride off into the sunset of the horror movie hall of fame. Jason Zito directed and special effects king Tom Savini wasback on board. Jason is pure evil in this film, and the viewer will feel this in the way Jason dispatches his victims. Corey Feidman knocks it out of the park as the lovable geeky 12-year old Tommy Jarvis. Most child actors can’t show range, but Feldman nails it going from an optimistic child whose innocence is robbed from him by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Paramount could not keep Jason dead after the movie earned $33 million at the box offices. These movies can be viewed through the majority of streaming services, or the new 12-disc Blu-Ray box set released by Shout Factory. So visit an era in horror movies where jump scares weren’t the focal point of the movie, and practical effects made for realism in films.
SERIES REVIEW
Tales of ghostly terror inspire drama horror series KRISTAL BLANKINSHIP web coordinator
Created by Mike Flanagan, the horror series “The Haunting of Bly Manor” landed on Netflix more than a week ago. The series was inspired by the ghostly tales of Henry James, including the 1898 horror novella “The Turn of the Screw.” Flanagan has a remarkable way of ensuring the audience cares for the characters by enveloping the story in their psychological traumas. Instead of focusing on a character’s backstory over an episode, he uses monologues and a maze of memories to trace hidden scars. Taking an ‘80s setting, the story unfolds a beautiful tragedy with meticulous attention to detail. Bright-eyed American Dani Clayton, played by Victoria Pedretti, finds herself in the gorgeous Bly Manor surrounded by emerald green English countryside. She hopes to make a difference caring for two children: Flora and Miles, played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Amelie Smith. Before long, Dani starts to see strangers around the property, and that’s where things
all start to unravel. The mystery surrounds the deaths of the children’s parents as well as the previous governess Rebecca Jessel, who drowned in the nearby lake. Dani also seems to have as many secrets in her past as the family who hired her. Bly Manor is hypnotic. Each episode leaves viewers asking questions, enticing them to keep watching. The story leaves them lost in a labyrinth constructed of emotional memories, confusing hallucinations and ghostly visions, losing one’s will to reach the exit. All until “Bly Manor” hands the viewer a map in Episode Eight, a narrative cop-out dressed up in period clothing, slathered with even more voice-over. It’s an episode that does so much explaining that the viewer starts to think the series is done, but there is another long episode. Only here does the viewer understand what the series’ main focus was meant to be throughout all of the different character backstories that took up so much time. Photo Courtesy of Netflix
Miles and Flora play story time while being possessed by the ghosts of their formal governess Rebecca Jessel and her overprotective boyfriend.
Opinion
The Collegian
Viewpoints
Do not wear racist Halloween costumes
MADDY REMINGTON managing editor
I don’t know how else to say it other than this: don’t be racist this Halloween. Pay attention to your costumes and the way they are seen through others’ eyes before you go posting your Instagram photos with friends. Whether you intend for your costume to be racist or not, it’s racist if it is appropriating another culture. Cultural appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices or ideas of one person or society by members of another. So in simple terms, stay away from Native American costumes, Day of the Dead sugar doll costumes, gypsy costumes, “Egyptian goddess” costumes and anything that includes the use of blackface. It’s 2020. I mean, do I really have
to tell you how not to be racist? These costumes portray that people of these communities are just one thing, when in fact they are real people living amongst you, blending in with the crowd. The only difference between the cultures we have oppressed and ours is that America likes to flaunt it’s superiority complex by stealing elements and ideas from cultures we oppress. How would you like it if people were using your race or culture as a costume?
campus editor
Horror is so much more than an adrenaline rush. Telling a scary story is the art of getting underneath the audience’s skin for hours, days, even weeks after the credits roll and the theater empties. Subtlety in horror is what does that for me. I wouldn’t call myself a connoisseur compared to some of my longtime horror buff friends. I only started exploring the genre about a year ago. Despite my late introduction, the art of terrifying an audience has fascinated me for years. An iconic example of this is The Shining. This film utilizes subtlety incredibly well. It isn’t loaded with action or showy visuals. It doesn’t need to be. The premise – a family going to take care of a remote hotel all alone – is
Editorial
Adapting holiday fun to a pandemic
The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement is working to combat the kidnapping of indigenous women from their reservations. Indigenous costumes that sexualize Indigenous women are incredibly harmful to causes such as these. Cultural appropriation is a real thing, and it affects real people. Dressing in a caricature of someone else’s identity is hurtful. It brings up painful feelings of the history of oppression these communities and their ancestors have faced in our country. Children are taking note of what is and isn’t OK. Wearing a racist costume, or even worse, putting them in a racist costume spreads the message stereotyping and cultural appropriation is OK. And it certainly is not.
Psychological horror films possess power
ALYSON OLIVER
October 21, 2020 • Page 3
ominous in its simplicity, in its mundanity. The atmosphere, aided by thoughtful cinematography, is cold and lonely. The danger remains covert until the very end of the film, appearing as ordinary but out of place visuals and the results of prolonged isolation. I would describe films of this style – such as The Shining, Hereditary or The Witch – as patient. They may be slower-paced, but I’ve found that cheap scares, constant action or laying a story out too plainly can break the tension it’s meant to create. The bite of ambiguity is lost. There is still danger, but knowing and understanding it is not nearly as terrifying as the alternative. Subtle horror allows time for the story to more naturally unfold. There are unnerving details littered throughout. The buildup humanizes the characters, for better or worse. It gives the audience a richer context that can make the conclusion that much more disturbing. And many films like this deliver endings that pack one hell of a punch. They hit a bit closer to home, stick with you a bit longer. We haven’t all had a monster jump out at us from behind a corner, but we’ve probably all felt unnerved, isolated, trapped, out of control or terrified of the unknown. Subtlety makes for a story that you feel in your gut long after it ends.
Amber Davis/The Collegian
Every holiday since March, things are being done differently this year. Though COVID-19 cases have surged in many states including Texas, there’s no doubt some people will still go out and partake in activities this Halloween. To combat that, Halloween festivities have been altered for safety. In Los Angeles, people drive-by give candy Mardi Gras style to socially-distanced guests while staying in their vehicle. Haunted houses and The State Fair of Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area continue the safety measures the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend. The State Fair of Texas offers virtual contests as well as the ability to attend virtual auto shows and tours of urban farms. Participants can even take a virtual ride on the Texas Star Ferris Wheel and the Top o’ Texas Tower. In cities or counties with a higher population, it is recommended that any celebrations are limited or canceled. In areas where the case count isn’t as detrimental, trick or treating is an option as long as there are enforced safety standards such as avoiding large crowds, wearing masks and continuously washing hands, According to Fort Worth Star-Telegram. This year trick or treating poses as a high risk activity both for children and adults. There are ways to make the day eventful
even while still being cautious. Some neighborhoods in the Arlington area voted and concluded they would decorate their homes without partaking in any door-to-door trick or treating. Substitute activities to celebrate the holiday can include carving pumpkins, scavenger hunts, movie night and costume contests. In addition to at-home events, the Coyote Drive-In theatre in downtown Fort Worth is open to the public, showcasing a few select movies throughout the week. Recent movies showcases have included Tenet, Coco, Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas. To further prevent the spread of the virus and lower the amount of cases, a recent count being 501 new cases in Tarrant County, safety must be enforced. Door-to-door trick-or-treating could still happen if prorper measures are taken. Have signs that promote social distancing. One trick -or-treater at a time to the door. Having goody bags instead of indiviually wrapped candys. Don’t play party games such as bobbing for apples and beer bonging. No double dipping at the snack bar. For those still attending or hosting an event regardless of city policies, practice guidelines and make it fun and safe. That’s what it’s all about after all. Just to be safe stay home, binge Halloween candy and catch up on all the horror movies.
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Foster-Sanders
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The Collegian • 828 Harwood Road Hurst, TX 76054 Office: 817-515-6391 Editor: 817-515-6394 Advertising: 817-515-6619 email: collegian.editor@tccd.edu TCC is an equal opportunity institution that provides educational and employment opportunities on the basis of merit and without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status or disability.
Page 4 • October 21, 2020
Feature
tales from the collegian A night at The Cutting Edge Haunted houses are back with all the frights this Halloween season despite social distancing MADDY REMINGTON, ALYSON OLIVER AND RUDY MARTINEZ Cutting Edge is back for the 2020 haunt season serving up scares to all who dare to enter the gates. This year, guests flocked to the longest haunted house in the world, located in an abandoned meat packing plant at the heart of Fort Worth, TX. Cutting Edge attracts horror fanatics and those of brave hearts to endure the many screams and frights within. “I had never been to a haunted house before so I thought it was finally time to come to one,” Brittany Escheverria said, minutes after completing her journey through the haunt. The deeper into the haunted house guests went, the more intense the experience became. While passing through several rooms filled with jump scares, monsters, fog and eerie
lighting, the horror started to become more real. Guests reported being taunted and followed by creepy dolls, horrifying clowns and relentless pursuers wielding chainsaws that could be heard from several rooms away. “The chainsaw guy was following me around and trying to get me,” Lisette Gonzalez said. “I was so scared.” While there was much to be frightened by in the depths of Cutting Edge, there was still plenty of fun to be had. “I enjoyed every part until I got to the bubble room at the very end where I couldn’t breathe,” Cartier Jordan said. Whereas Jordan’s girlfriend said her favorite part was the fog-filled room where she couldn’t see. One thing was guaranteed: In every room, one of the five senses would be compromised, ensuring guests would have a terrifying and disorienting experience.
Anything that one could be afraid of is included at least once in this haunt. Everyone was on their toes throughout the one and a half-hour walk through winding passageways and dimly lit rooms. Visitors had an overwhelmingly positive experience at Cutting Edge. Most even said they would come back as soon as next week. Cutting Edge followed CDC guidelines in response to COVID-19 as well as anyone would think a haunted house could. Upon arrival, guests were instructed to enter a virtual queue before leaving their vehicle to enter the Cutting Edge line. Although the people traffic was plenty, Cutting Edge sectioned off the line with batches of hay and cones 6-feet apart. “They distanced everyone in line and made everyone wear their face masks,” Sarah Nivens said. For those who dare to enter Cutting Edge this Halloween season, here is what to expect
upon arrival: Once you find your parking spot you will be advised to enter a virtual queue. The queue will be your guide to tell you when to enter the Cutting Edge premises. As always, you will go through security and be directed to a waiver form station to check-in. Next, you will enter the socially distant line and wait to enter the haunted house. Cutting Edge worked hard to perfect the socially distant haunted house by providing each party a section in line and in the haunted house itself. Although it may have seemed that there were fewer scarers in years past, the screams were just as loud. Cutting Edge is an enticing fright fest that draws in an abundance of thrill-seekers, and it is right in the heart of north Texas. No matter the experience, you can always expect lots of screams, laughs, and a good time with friends and family.
Photos by Azul Sordo/The Collegian
Guests line up six feet apart to practice social distancing before entering the longest haunted house in the world, located in a former meat packing plant in Fort Worth.
Guests exit the end of the haunted house, which is a bubble room that simulates suffocation and induces fear.
Throughout the enterance to the haunt, signs and markers were placed to enforce social distancing while in the queue.
Illustration by Amber Davis/The Collegian