Kara Christensen

If you haven’t heard of Harry Potter yet, you must have been living in a box for the last few years. Whether you love the boy wizard fantasy books, hate them or refuse to pay attention to a “children’s story,” you will surely hear more about them in the coming week.

Why?

Friday marks the opening of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” a Warner Bros. movie made from author J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel of the same name.

SDSU students and faculty have mixed reactions to the hype about Harry’s new flick.

Laureen Aadland, Aramark employee, said she and her two sons (ages 11 and 15) have been reading the books since they came out.

“In a way, I kind of don’t want to see the movie because it sort of takes away your imagination,” she said. “But we’re going to go see it anyhow. I’m hoping it’s as good as it looks.”

Fellow Aramark Employee Pat Bittiker also has a child who has read the books and wants to see the movie.

“I can’t get into [the books],” she said. “But the movie looks so good.”

Bittiker said it seems like some middle schoolers “live and breathe Harry Potter.”

For some students, it took the reading interest of someone younger to get their attention.

Junior Kelly Sternhagen began reading about Harry last summer, after her younger sister.

“I think it’s younger siblings that get you started on them,” she said. “And I’m stuck for life. It’s scary.”

She was hooked after book one, and finished all four books in two weeks.

“Sooner or later, I started, and I haven’t stopped.”

Even though she’s not a big fantasy fan, Sternhagen said she really enjoys the books.

“They’re children’s books, but they have enough adult input to keep you interested.”

Reading the books is also a way to re-visit younger days.

“It makes you go back to the childhood days when you wanted to be a witch or a wizard, so you could snap your fingers and make things happen automatically,” she said.

Sternhagen is one fan who is counting down the days until the film premiere. She plans to go a couple of times.

“The movie just looks great,” she said. “I am extremely excited.”

Although she thinks “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” would be a good movie for anyone, she said viewers will probably enjoy it more with some background knowledge on Harry Potter.

She said she encouraged other college students to give “Harry Potter” a chance, even if only to read something fun and procrastinate doing their homework.

“Just give the first book a try,” she said. “It’s really easy reading.”