The Ranger Online

Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: News

Media Credit: D.A. James Theater sophomore Nick Guzman and theater freshman Eloisa Bass treat theater freshman Victor Hugo Perez in the Haunted Asylum Oct. 26 in the Fiesta Room. Perez had a strobe light between his feet that was flashing to give the appearance of him being electrocuted. The production played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Media Credit: D.A. James Natasha Waite, left, 8-year-old Kaylee Burge and her mother, Nicole Burge, cheerfully wait to enter the Haunted Asylum in the Fiesta Room Oct. 26.

Media Credit: D.A. James Nicole Burge comforts her daughter, Kaylee, outside of the exit of Loftin Student Center after being frightened by the Haunted Asylum.

Media Credit: D.A. James Theater sophomore Luis Reyes pulls prop intestines from Steven Starr, who graduated in May, while assistant auditorium manager Joan Williams prepares to devour an organ for the On-stage Drama Club's Haunted Asylum.

The coordinator of the photography program complained that the On Stage Drama Club's Haunted Asylum was insensitive to people with mental illness.

The club presented the Haunted Asylum, an event co-sponsored by the office of student life Oct. 26-28 in Loftin Student Center. More than 400 people walked through the Halloween attraction that consisted of scary scenes, such as a patient receiving an electric shock treatment.

The event raised more than $500 for the club's trip to London in April.

When a campuswide e-mail was sent advertising the event, Professor James P. "Buzz" McBride voiced his concerns to theater and speech communication Chair Jeff Hunt about the image the haunted asylum might portray.

"Mr. McBride was concerned the asylum was going to make fun of the mentally ill and preserve the negative stigma associated with the mentally ill," Hunt said Oct 29.

McBride has been involved in a mental health support group for 10 years at First Baptist Universal City. The group mainly sees parents with children diagnosed with bipolar disorder and occasionally people diagnosed with schizophrenia, he said.

McBride suggested the department change the event to the haunted house, but it had already been advertised as the Haunted Asylum, and plans moved forward as scheduled.

"He was very apologetic when I pointed out that it could add to the stigmas for the mentally ill," McBride said about his conversation with Hunt. "You couldn't ask for a better demeanor than he expressed."

McBride did not go to the asylum, but he said he saw photos of the event.

"They weren't out of the ordinary for Halloween," he said, "but that wasn't the point."

Hunt met with the club's adviser, theater Instructor Paula Rodriguez, explaining McBride's concerns and a possible solution to the problem.

"We told the students not to portray a certain disease. They were acting more like criminals," Hunt said.

"They were mostly acting like characters from movies," Rodriguez said, "'Dawn of the Dead,' Norman Bates from 'Psycho' and a lot of cannibals and zombies walking around."

The actors were told by Lori Roman, club president and theater sophomore, to research specific diseases and portray one or two diseases to the best of their abilities.

"We wanted to do an asylum because we could research better and perform to our full extent," Roman said Oct 26.

"Technically, we are mocking insane people," she said, "but we're doing this for fun. It's Halloween."

One of the first patrons to walk through was a Ripley's Haunted Adventure director, Hunt said.

"It is not your typical haunted house," Hunt said the director told him.

Hunt agrees with McBride that the event should have been titled haunted house.

The group and student life plan to continue hosting a haunted house every year, but the themes will differ from year to year, Hunt said.

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