AMC: How One Conversation Sparked the Largest Club on Campus

The AMC club, which began less than four years ago, has grown into the largest student-run club at YU. The club offers between 60 and 70 free tickets to popular movies every other week to students, and has recently given out drinks, chocolate and ‘merch’ at events. It has even prompted a discussion chat for students to recap and debate the movies they saw. The president and face of the club is Eli Anina (SSSB ‘25) who sat down with The Commentator for an interview. 

One of the unique features of the club is that, unlike almost every club at YU, it does not run through Campus Groups. “We started by using Google Forms and WhatsApp so why fix something if it ain’t broke,” Anina explained. A few weeks before a movie is to be released, Anina releases a poll to his chat with over 800 students to gauge interest in a possible event. He almost always garners enough interest in an event. Once a movie is chosen, the tickets — which OSL purchases — are often sold out within minutes. They are then distributed on WhatsApp through a Google Form on the Friday prior to the showing, on a first-come, first-served basis.

“When I first came to YU in Fall 2021, there was a huge gap in campus life,” Anina told The Commentator. “I attended a few events that were hosted, but I would mainly just hang out with my friends,” he said. One night after attending a movie with a few friends, Anina came up with an idea to help both narrow the gap in campus life, and ease the monetary pressure that these excursions entailed. “Wouldn't it be great if we could go to the movies for free?” he told his friends. With these words, the AMC club was born. 

“Our first event made me very proud,” Anina said. “After it, we had a bunch of people who wanted to come to our future events and reported how thankful they were for having a place where they can simply relax with their friends.” Once the club gained popularity, Anina was able to get funding for other amenities, including subway passes, snacks and sweatshirts. The sweatshirts are raffled off through an online randomizer wheel, a recording of which is sent — per usual — on WhatsApp. “Our club’s mission then changed from just free tickets, to creating an atmosphere that everyone could enjoy,” Anina proudly said. “It became a place where you could meet new friends or hang out with old ones.”

Anina attributes much of the success to his co-presidents. “None of this would have been possible without them,” he said. Additionally, Anina praised OSL for all their hard work and commitment to the club and student life on campus. “All of this would never have been possible without OSL,” Anina commented. “They are all so amazing at what they do and have helped me so much.” Anina specially lauded Sam Gelman, the Senior Student Life Manager at OSL, for all his “terrific help” and admitted that “the club wouldn’t exist without him.” 

Given that both Anina and his co-presidents are set to graduate this May, Anina has already privately arranged a successor. “We are so proud to have three amazing new co-Presidents from Beren and Wilf,” Anina told The Commentator. “With our guidance, we have no doubt they will be able to take over swiftly and successfully.”

Looking back at the club’s humble beginnings, Anina is moved by the growth of the club and is eager for what’s to come. “I look forward to the day I get to look back and see how far this club has gone,” Anina shared. “But for now, with much love, we want to thank everyone who has ever attended one of our events. You are a huge part of our success and you bring us so much joy.”

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Photo Caption: The AMC club after attending a showing of Fall Guy

Photo Credit: Eli Anina