Erica Miller/The Ithacan FAITH KINDLE ’02 as Janet and junior Kenneth Andrade as Brad practice for Ithaca College’s version of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” last fall in Textor 102.

Students still have the option of doing the “Time Warp” this Halloween because the Ithaca College Players have prevented the death of the annual showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

The Student Activities Board broke tradition this year, deciding Oct. 7 not to fund the show.

No one is sure how many years SAB has been holding the event in Textor 102, but “Rocky Horror” enthusiast Erin Weisburger, a junior cinema and photography major, said it was shown here in 1979, when her father was an Ithaca College student.

SAB turned away 200 people at the door last Halloween, as the lecture hall had exceeded its 236-person capacity. Despite the popularity of the affair, Executive Chair Gregg Goldstein said SAB did not want to sponsor the event this year.

“The stuff that they traditionally do at ‘Rocky Horror,’ it’s a problem for Ithaca College,” Goldstein said.

SAB Adviser Karen Coleman, assistant director for student leadership and envolvement, said she received complaints last year from five or six attendees who were upset by what she called “hazing,” marking first-time attendees with a “V” for virgin, seating them in the first row and using loud, vulgar language. Students are not always aware of this before attending, Coleman said.

“Hazing is against the Ithaca College policy,” Coleman said.

“Rocky Horror” organizers said they had already conceded requests to SAB and decided to do without the rituals for this year’s performance. They questioned SAB’s allegations that the show’s customs were mandatory for attendance.

“None of that was ever forced,” cast member Andrew Dahill said. “When someone seemed really upset about it, I would take them aside and say, ‘This is part of the show, none of this is real. If you don’t want to do it, don’t worry about it. Sit wherever you want in there.’ Everyone I talked to always understood that.”

“We tell the audience that no one can do anything without your permission,” said Meredith Rossman, a junior drama major.

Dahill, also a junior drama major, was cast as Frankenfurter for a second year the day before SAB pulled the plug on funding. The show had already been cast when SAB Films Co-chair Steven Sprouse e-mailed the director of “Rocky Horror,” junior Stephen Wagner, with SAB’s decision.

“Rocky Horror” endorsers were not notified of any problems with hazing until it came time to request funds for this year, cast members said.

Rehearsals were slated to begin that afternoon. With the repeal of funding, room reservations for rehearsals were lost and actors had already spent exorbitant amounts of money on costumes, Rossman said.

Goldstein said that the last-minute notification was the result of miscommunication on the parts of both SAB and the people associated with “Rocky Horror.”

Wagner said the time SAB took to decide on funding caused them to lose possible sponsorship from other organizations, including BIGAYLA.

“SAB led us to believe they were going to do that. Then we lost that opportunity,” Wagner said.

Dahill and other “Rocky Horror” enthusiasts petitioned in the Campus Center Oct. 11, collecting more than 400 signatures at their “Keep Rocky in the Picture” table.

Now, the IC Players have agreed to sponsor the event in order to encourage and support dramatic performances on campus, said President Zack Stipe.

However, the last-minute nature of the decision has made arrangements difficult. With just a week before Halloween, the movie rights, Student Auxiliary Safety Patrol and custodial staff are still not secured.

The performance, which was held three nights last year, is only available on Halloween this year because Textor 102 is reserved for other purposes on other nights. Stipe said the players are still looking into reserving the room for a second evening so they can recover the money lost by taking on the venture.

Goldstein said the expense of “Rocky Horror” was another deciding factor in SAB’s decision.

The event has not been profitable, as it cost SAB $1,198.15 last year and brought in only $507.50, about the same amount a double feature made this year.

Some fans said they see the funding controversy as evidence of larger issues on the Ithaca College campus.

“I don’t see anybody have any fun anymore that isn’t intoxicated. All people do is do their work and drink,” Dahill said.

Goldstein said SAB is not obligated to fund “Rocky Horror.”

“Yes, our mission statement says we provide activities for the entire campus, but there is nowhere in any constitution of ours that says SAB has to sponsor this program,” he said. “God bless them if this is the only tradition broken in [their] lifetime.”

But some fans said they will not let the setbacks dampen their Halloween tradition.

“The passion will drive them even harder,” Wagner said.