The combined effort by as many as 60 students at Jefferson Davis
Community College will offer an opportunity to area residents to get a
good scare this Halloween.
Members of student organizations including the Honors/PTK group, the
Student Government Association and the girl’s softball team at JD have
worked together to construct a haunted gymnasium at the college.
Lyn Gill, director of the honors group, said a lot of work has already
been done with more planned this week.
“The students have already been working to create a haunting
atmosphere for this event,” Gill said. “There is still lots to do to
change the gym from normal to haunted.”
Among the areas planned for the event are death row, a haunted
graveyard and a haunted asylum.
“The tour of everything planned will take about 15 minutes for those
who come,” Gill said. “We plan on having fun and entertaining the
community in the process.”
Monica Dunn, president of the honors group, said the haunted gym is
one way the group is keeping an eye on their mission.
“Our mission is ‘connecting the college to the community,’” Dunn said.
“This is one way we can do that. We are working to put something
together to have something for the residents of the community to be
involved with at JD.”
The event is more than just a community connection, Gill said.  The
event is also a fundraiser by the combined groups to benefit Relay for
Life.
“We wanted to do something as a group to raise money for Relay for
Life,” Gill said. “We have a team every year for the Relay event and
this is a great way to get our fundraising off to a good start.”
Although the event is typically an annual presentation, there was no
haunted gym in 2010.
“The haunted gym wasn’t done last year and the students really missed
it,” Gill said. “The SGA and Honors group really wanted to pick it up
and get it going again. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s really
coming together. We’re having a lot of fun getting things prepared and
it should be a fun time for everyone.”
Dunn said the event would be a great time for the community to enjoy
an evening of spooks and frights.
“What we’re doing is really a family friendly event,” Dunn said.
“There may be some things that are a little intense, like the death
row scenes. Some of those things might be a little disturbing for very
young children. We hope that parents will keep that in mind as they
come out for the event.”
The schedule for the haunted gym opening will be Wednesday and
Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. and again on Monday, Oct. 31 from 6 to 10
p.m. Admission is $4 per person.