Florida State University students were recently caught off guard by an Askew Student Life Center (ASLC) social media post announcing that they would be charged a $5 fee for movie screenings − which always have been free to them − starting May 1.
But university officials have since cleared up the misinformation that was shared via Instagram last month:
Movies will continue to be offered to FSU students at no charge.
In fact, the student-run theater there will be presenting the Oscar award-winning film “Moonlight” made by FSU alumnus and filmmaker Barry Jenkins at 7:30 p.m. each night May 18 to May 20 on campus for free. Doors open at 7 p.m.
An Instagram post of the upcoming special screening had “FREE FILM” written in the comments before sharing details about the three-day showing.
The screening comes after ASLC announced in an April 17 Instagram post that it would “have to charge” a $5 fee for movie screenings “due to budget reallocation.”
It did not outline who reallocated the funds or how they were reallocated, and by April 22, the post was removed.
“We won’t stand for this,” an Instagram user commented regarding the premature announcement about the fee. Another user wrote, “Terrible idea. Having to pay creates barrier to entry and decreases community.”
As FSU students and organizations reacted to the announcement with concerns, university officials set the record straight.
“There have been no changes to the fee structure for the ASLC movie program,” FSU Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Brandon Bowden told the FSView & Florida Flambeau student newspaper. “FSU’s A&S (Activity and Service) fee has not increased in over 10 years while operation costs have increased considerably.”
He says the ASLC Instagram post, which was made by a student, mentioned discussion between students and staff around shrinking budgets in general and brainstorming ways to try to generate revenue to offset costs. But no budget has been reallocated from the student life center.
“To be clear, there is no plan to charge $5 for every movie effective May 1,” Bowden said.
In addition to free movie screenings remaining the same for FSU students, ticket prices for non-FSU students attending movies at the ASLC remain the same, according to Bowden.
Besides the upcoming free movie screening of “Moonlight” for the general public, the current pricing is $6 for general admission and $3 for FSU faculty, staff and alumni as well as Florida A&M University students and Tallahassee State College students.
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU ensures free movie screenings after a recent $5 fee announcement
Reporting by Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
