Haunted Union Maze

10/19/01

CONTACT:
Margie Yu
Public Affairs Spec.
(323) 343-3047

Calendar
of Events

Experience Halloween at
Cal State L.A.'’s Haunted Union Maze

Los Angeles, CA -- Your worst nightmare will come true as "monsters," "goblins" and "ghosts" take over Cal State L.A.’s University-Student Union (U-SU) on Friday, October 26, starting at 6 p.m. After getting the daylights scared out of you, get your palm and tarot cards read, and play for prizes at the game booths in the Haunted Union Maze. There will also be a scary storytelling for children at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Maze tickets are free for Cal State L.A. students, staff, faculty and alumni with valid idenitification, and children under the age of 12. Non-Cal State L.A. students can purchase maze tickets for $1 each. Tickets will be available at the U-SU Information Desk starting Monday, October 22.

In addition to the Haunted Union Maze, Cal State L.A. has two other events scheduled for Fright Week. On Monday, October 22, 3 p.m., at the Maxwell Theatre, U-SU, you can spend a thrilling evening with Lieutenant Arbuthonot from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, as he shares his experience accompanied by (very graphic) pictures, right from the Coroner’s Report, including details that didn’t quite make the evening news! On Tuesday, October 23, and Wednesday, October 24, you can get into the Halloween spirit by watching Scary Movie, showing at 7 p.m. in the Maxwell Theatre, University-Student Union, for both dates. The film parodies such horror movies as Scream, Halloween, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Carrie, and The Blair Witch Project.

Sponsors for the events include the Center for Student Development and Programs, U-SU, Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, the Cal State L.A. Anthropological Society, and student fees. For more information or to request special accommodations, contact the Center for Student Development and Programs at (323) 343-5110.

Find out more about the mysteries of horror movies, ghost stories, vampires and werewolves, and the Day of the Dead. Cal State L.A. has faculty experts available to speak to the media on topics related to Halloween. The names of the professors are listed below. To arrange an interview with one of the professors, contact the Cal State L.A. Public Affairs Office at (323) 343-3050.

Alfred Bendixen
Professor of English
Founder and executive director of the American Literature Association and professor of English at Cal State L.A., Dr. Bendixen is an expert on the ghost story and the literature of the supernatural. He is the editor of Haunted Women: The Best Supernatural Tales by American Women (1987), and has edited numerous books including The Whole Family: A Novel by Twelve Authors (2001; 1986), Encyclopedia of American Literature (1999), The Wind in the Rose-Bush and Other Stories of the Supernatural by Mary Wilkins Freeman (1995), and Edith Wharton: New Critical Essays (1992).

Stuart Fischoff
Professor of Psychology
Over the past year, Dr. Fischoff and students in his media lab have completed a study analyzing people’s choices of the scariest movies and favorite movie monsters. Since Sept. 11, he has been a highly-sought-after commentator on local, national, and international media discussing various issues including the role of the hero in films, the fate of “reality-based” TV programs, cancellation of the Emmys, and entertainers’ use of humor, criticism and political correctness in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Dr. Fischoff is a media psychologist and past president of the media division of the American Psychological Association. He founded the nation’s first research lab in media psychology at Cal State L.A. and introduced the first course designated as Media Psychology. Dr. Fischoff conducts research on the impact of film and television on audiences and ethnic/racial/gender/age differences in reactions to film, and is a frequently-cited expert on “cinema-therapy.”

Richard Rodriguez
Assistant Professor of Chicano Studies
Dr. Rodriguez’ expertise is in popular culture. He has written on Academy Award nominee Lourdes Portillo’s acclaimed documentary film La Ofrenda (The Altar), and how cultural practices like Dia de los muertos/Day of the Dead “translate” from Mexican to U.S. Latino culture.

Wayne R. Tikkanen
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Professor Tikkanen is an expert on organometallic chemistry, with an interest in catalysis. He has done studies on metabolic diseases that included discussions of werewolves and vampires.

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