During last week’s Halloween Launch, The Roosevelt Review had an eye-catching decoration at its booth that caught the attention of many. A life-sized cardboard cut-out of Edward from “Twilight” drew in students from all over campus, who wanted to take photos and ask more about him. This raised many questions and much excitement, leaving students wondering where Edward came from or why he´s here.
Edward is certainly more than just a silly decoration. His story begins around 14-15 years ago in the front window of Hot Topic. Malori Merki-Castro, Roosevelt´s journalism teacher, was the first to fall for Edward´s irresistible charm. Castro was new to teaching at the time; however, when she laid her eyes on Edward, she knew she had to have him in the classroom. Since then, Edward has been a welcoming face in her classroom, E103, and he even makes outside appearances during campus events such as Club Rush. Students love having him around and seeing him at booths; however, things weren´t always like this.
At the beginning, “Twilight” was a very popular series, and students knew exactly who he was when they first saw him back in 2012.
“And then time kind of passed a little bit and… People weren´t as interested in him anymore as ‘Twilight’ fell off,” Castro said.
Noticing this lack of interest, Castro decided it wasn´t best for Edward to be in the classroom anymore, and she took him home and put him away.
¨I put him in a closet at home, and he lived in a closet until… COVID probably? And then I brought him back,” recalled Castro.
The classroom was no longer the same without Edward´s handsome face to greet students. Once Edward returned, he was able to regain the love and attention he deserved. Even students who don´t know what “Twilight” is still smile whenever they see him outside or in class. Everyone has downsides in their life, even Edward, but now he´s back better than ever, spreading joy across our campus.
¨Seeing a life-sized cardboard Edward on our campus during Lawnch was definitely something I didn´t know I needed in life up until now,” said Joscelyn Miller, a “Twilight” superfan.
