It’s a riot. It’s a party. It’s a flash mob? Members of Florida A&M Green Coalition took a different approach Tuesday by initiating its first flash mob around FAMU’s Eternal Flame.
The event was designed to get students excited for the Moving Planet Day on Sept. 24th at Railroad Square. Instead of using fossil fuels, people will use sustainable movements, including marching, biking and skating. The day will be celebrated worldwide.
As students walked throughout campus headed towards their various destinations, they were interrupted by a large group of students holding up signs and performing the “freshman stroll.”
Many students were confused. Tnijah Smith, a junior, was one of the many students caught off guard.
“Wait! What…oh! They are doing the flash mob,” Smith said while staring puzzled at the flash mob. “I saw all the signs and I heard the music. It was a great way to get people’s attention.”
Though it took students a while to realize what was going on, it didn’t stop them from participating. Many students accompanied the flash mob by doing the freshman stroll.
Jean Altidor, FAMU’s Mr. Orange & Green, couldn’t resist joining the flash mob in the freshman stroll.
“When I heard the music and saw it was for a good cause I couldn’t help but jump in,” said Altidor. “The flash mob made me more interested in the green coalition and its mission.”
The Green Coalition has done many things on campus including the 2010 “10 for 10” pledge and the “International Day Climate Action” in 2009. The Green Coalition won $10,000 and built a rainwater collection system on located near Lee Hall. The Green Coalition is sponsored by 350.org (350 parts per million of Carbon Dioxide should be sustained on earth).
“Scientists find that we are currently at 392 and rising, meaning the planet is getting warmer,” said LaRae Donellan, a professor in the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication and chairman of the Green Coalition.
According to 350.org, they are building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis and push for policies that will put the world back to 350.
Members of the Green Coalition will be out celebrating Moving Planet Day Sept. 24th at Railroad Square from 4 p.m.- 8 p.m. The event will include food and music, a 15-minute play called “Trial of King Coal” and a parade.