Students spread out under the stars Monday, hoping to enjoy an outdoor showing of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby on McKeldin Mall, received a rude awakening when sprinklers turned on and sent startled students running for cover.

About an hour into the 9:30 p.m. film, with students sitting on the ground, lawn chairs and blankets, the sprinklers along the library side of the mall went off.

Students cleared the area, grabbing their valuables in a desperate scramble to save digital cameras and bags from getting wet, and soon the waterworks forced Student Entertainment Events to shut down the event entirely.

Although many of those sprayed by the sprinklers were shocked by the sudden onslaught of water, the university sprinkler system is set to go off at a specific time every night, a fact that many feel SEE should have taken into account when planning the outdoor movie.

“I thought it was hilarious, because the sprinklers go off around the same time all the time, and the fact that SEE didn’t think to take that into consideration – it’s awesome,” said junior marketing major Alex Gorman, who, like many who stayed dry during the chaos, was amused by the spectacle rather than disappointed that the movie was canceled.

“I’m kinda disappointed because I went to see the movie, but at the same time it was pretty funny to see all those people get soaked,” junior journalism and sociology major Julia Russell said. “I mean, we were just watching the movie and out of nowhere people just started screaming and running away!”

SEE officials were less amused.

Although officials said the event should have gone off without a hitch, a miscommunication between the SEE coordinators and Any Excuse for a Party, the company that provided the screen and projector, led to the movie being shown on the wrong side of the mall.

“We planned for the event to be set up on the other side of the mall,” SEE President Maggy Baccinelli said.

SEE had previously arranged for the sprinklers on the administration building side of the mall to be shut down for the night, Baccinelli added.

“Once everything was set up where it was, no one thought about the sprinklers,” she said. “It was no one’s fault; it was just a mistake.”

Despite the unfortunate outcome of Monday night’s event, Baccinelli said that, in the upcoming weeks, SEE will be discussing the possibility of rescheduling the event, though she wasn’t sure if it would feature the same film or a different one.

Students say the sprinklers did not dampen their spirits nor would they deter them from attending future SEE-orchestrated events.

“I would definitely go again,” Russell said. “It was a great idea – for the short time that it lasted.”

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