MINARET UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA’S NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1933
THE Vo l u m e
81
Number
9
Crist Democratic Candidate on Ballot See NEWS Page 4
Minaret Goes Behind the Scenes at RMC See A&E Page 7
Sarah Silverman Attacks Gender Wage Gap See OPINION Page 15
Students Support Cross Country Team at Spartan Run See SPORTS Page 19
OPINION By JACKIE BRAJE
•
October
23,
2014
•
ut.minaret@gmail.com
For some, a haunted house themed around the murder cases of Richard Trenton Chase is merely a form of adrenaline-pumping Halloween entertainment. For others, however, it’s a haunting reminder of the horror they faced in the late 1970s. It’s a reenactment and reminder of the devastating loss of their loved one. Scream Park California is a Halloween theme park based in Sacramento and referred to as “the best of the west” by Forbes. The park hosts three intensely graphic haunted houses, which include “Asylum,” a house inspired by the disturbing 1960s mental institution of Sacramento and “Bad Acid Trip.” “The Mind of a Killer,” the most popular attraction at the park this year, was inspired by the serial killings of Richard Trenton Chase. In the late 1970s, Chase became a prominent figure in the Sacramento crime scene. He was known to some as the “Vampire of Sacramento” and was convicted of six total murders in just one month by 1979. He was a schizophrenic, a chronic drug abuser and was most famously known to drink his victims’ blood and cannibalize their remains. Spooky, right? “It’s horrifying that everybody else somehow is making some kind of situation, money, whatever you want to call it, off of other people’s grief,” David Wallin said in an interview with Fox 15 News.
theminaretonline.com
Gluten-Free Improv “A Healthy Alternative to Your Comedic Lifestyle” By KARA DELEMEESTER Arts and Entertainment Writer
Students left Reeves Theater in tears of laughter this past Saturday, Oct. 18 after a “Whose Line is it Anyway?” style performance by UT’s own Gluten-Free Improv group. Founded by junior Steven Card and junior Griffin Guinta, Gluten-Free Improv is an on-campus group for anyone interested in improvisational comedy. The group claims to be “A Healthy Alternative to Your Comedic Lifestyle,” and their performance last weekend did not disappoint. The show began with an introductory sketch where an audience member was made to improvise the story of how the group was founded. The skits, all in a “Whose Line is it Anyway?” style included “Party Quirks” where senior Nolan Tashjian had to guess the strange quirks of his party guests, junior Luisamaria Hernandez (the worst firefighter ever), junior Roxxi Jaxx (thought everyone’s butt was a Magic 8 Ball) and junior Kelsey Rudder (a chicken with an attitude). Austin MacFarland, a junior, and John Millsap, a senior, received audience help with their attempt to cook a meal for the President in “Moving People,” a skit where the performers can only move their mouths. Before the show, entrants were asked to write down a word or phrase on a slip of paper. Theses slips were later worked into the show
during the skit “Written Fixation.” Junior Kelcy Owens and Card sat down for a meal served by Guinta where they had to randomly read from one of the audiences’ slips and manage to keep the performance going no matter what it said. The final sketch of the show was “The News Station” and involved every performer. Card was a new anchor with his partner Owens. Hernandez was a sexy weather girl and Jaxx was an Arts & Entertainment reporter who couldn’t believe she just got dumped. Guinta was a hungover field reporter and news reporters Millsap and MacFarland, gave the audience a play by play of “midget bowlers” Rudder and Tashjian. Each performance had the audience wiping their eyes and slapping their legs, the greatest compliments a comedy show could ever hope for. The evening ended with a “One-Word Story” exercise that included the entire audience and cast, and an Ellen Degeneres style selfie taken by Guinta to commemorate the event. Luckily for those who missed the show, most of the performance can be found on the group’s Youtube page, or you can attend the club’s meetings on Fridays at 5:30 p.m. in Reeves Theater. But remember, the next time you’re looking for some improvisational comedic action, go Gluten-Free. Kara Delemeester can be reached at kara. delemeester@spartans.ut.edu
Offensive Haunted House
Arts and Entertainment Editor
•
36 years ago on Jan. 23, Chase had broken into Wallin’s home and brutally killed his wife, Theresa, and her unborn baby. She was three months pregnant at the time. He shot her three times, then proceeded to rape and mutilate her corpse; this horrific crime is used as one of the “attractions” in the Scream Park haunted house. “It was horrifying, and the worst part of it is I was the one who got home after a terrible day at work and found her, something I live with everyday,” Wallin said. It boils down to the age-old debate over what’s acceptable in the horror entertainment industry and what is altogether tasteless. Hollywood was relieved of the oppressive Hays Code law in 1968 and suddenly free to depict sex and violence in any way, but even without said restrictions, isn’t there still an unspoken line not to be crossed? One can argue that the general appeal in horror movies and entertainment is to experience, in safety, the emotions associated with danger. But what happens when one’s fake, temporary fear is another’s everyday reality? “There’s something fascinating about the legacy a serial killer leaves behind,” said junior English major Jade Foster. “We, as a society, know that what serial killers do is among the most horrific and unimaginable acts against nature and yet we are enamored with them… It goes against our very nature to survive and yet we still try to reenact their heinous crimes for entertainment.”
Alexandra Martin/ The Minaret
Torrie Winsett New SG Vice President By KHADIJAH KHAN Head Copy Editor
crimemuseum.org Richard Trenton Chase’s mug shot
This is desensitized entertainment. This is the marketing of one person’s loss—a person who’s still very much alive—for the profit of another. It’s using something incredibly devastating and disturbing that actually happened to an innocent victim and warping it into a ten-minute stroll through a haunted house, for a few good screams here and there. I suggest dodging the insensitive bullet and coming up with something that hasn’t already happened—to not offend the surviving loved ones of the victims. If you’re going to be tasteless, then at least try to be creative. Jackie Braje can be reached at jacquelyn. braje@theminaretonline.com
Editors of The Minaret would like to apologize for an error last week that replaced the article about Torrie Winsett’s new position as SG Vice President with the text from another story. We wish Torrie and SG the best of luck in their endeavors this year. With Jacqueline French stepping down, Torrie Winsett stepped up for the transition into being the new Vice President of Student Government. Winsett, senior and communication major, officially became the Vice President of Student Government on Sept. 26 at midnight. Former VP Jacqueline French stepped down due to her decision to graduate early. Winsett has held many leadership roles on campus through athletic marketing and has been an active participant in student To TORRIE Page 4