Harry Potter, students charm library’s 50th birthday

The library’s “Harry Potter Room” on the second floor was filled with Hogwarts-themed treats, trivia and a showing of the “Sorcerer’s Stone” Tuesday night.

The Harry Potter party was sponsored by the Undergraduate Student Government and the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library and aimed to help students celebrate the library’s 50th anniversary, said Liz Motz, USG vice president of academic affairs.

“It all kind of stemmed from the idea of how to celebrate having the library on campus, and getting students to the library to see how they can use it in different ways,” said Motz, who helped plan the party in cooperation with the library.

About 70 students participated in the Harry Potter trivia game throughout the night, which gave them the opportunity to win Coffee Bené mugs. About five to 10 students stayed through the whole movie, and more stopped by for some candy, Motz said.

The candy was straight out of the book: “Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans” (Jelly Belly jelly beans) and “Cockroach Clusters” (peanut clusters).

After buying the candy and prizes, the total cost of the event was about $80. But getting the rights to play “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” to an audience cost more than $200.

“It was a bummer,” Motz said. “I had no idea that you actually had to do that.”

Some students said they would like to see more events like this, so the library and USG may sponsor more parties in the future, featuring other books-gone-movie, Motz said.

Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu