Dozens of students attended Student Union Board (SUB) and Student Government’s joint screening of “Black Panther” (2018) Friday night.

Making sure to maintain social distancing guidelines, members of SUB and Student Government took precautions by spray painting predetermined sitting spaces on the grass, ensuring all attending parties would be at least 6 feet from each other.

Additional sanitary guidelines were the inclusion of hand sanitizing stations as well as garbage cans for convenient use. After a warm welcome from Andrew Girres, president of SUB, the film “Black Panther” began on the projector screen.

Placed just in front of the Campanile on Central Campus, the projector screen, while a bit small for such a spread-out space, offered impressive clarity of footage and a very impressive sound system.

About 15 minutes into the screening, some technical difficulties occurred, which caused a momentary pause in the show. Girres and the members of SUB and Student Government were quick to solve the technical problems. The break gave the audience members a chance to say hello to those around them and check any pesky phone notifications.

Once the situation was corrected, “Black Panther” was scene-selected to the “resume from the stopping point,” and the film continued on with no further interruptions.

At the end of the film, Girres thanked everyone for coming, and the audience packed up and left, throwing away any accrued garbage.

“It’s outdoors, so it’s conducive to social distancing,” said Jacob Conn, senior in computer engineering, in response to why he attended the screening. “It’s a safe way to get out.”

Showing “Black Panther” in a safe and socially distant way is one way to honor the recent loss of Chadwick Boseman, the lead actor in the film. 

The next event hosted by SUB will be the second ISU AfterDark of the semester Oct. 2. This event will be a virtual and in-person hybrid, offering both online and live entertainment opportunities.