Yesterday morning, at 11:56 a.m., the UC Davis Quad froze over.
An estimated 200 students participated in a flash mob, stopping in their place at the blow of a whistle, then moving on with their day when the clock chimed noon.
The event was organized by Eric Schmidt, a sophomore exercise biology major, who used Facebook and word of mouth to draw people to the Quad to participate.
“It was a better turn out than I thought,” Schmidt said. “I knew a lot of people were excited about it, but I didn’t think everyone would actually commit.”
Schmidt froze with his eyes closed as a friend pretended to slap his face.
“Everyone loved it and wants me to do another one,” he said. “They all congratulated me for a fantastic job.”
Julie Mizraji, a sophomore communication major, heard about the event through friends. She said she froze as a robot, with one arm at a 90 degree angle and the other reaching toward another participant.
“I thought it would be funny [to watch] for the people that didn’t know about it,” Mizraji said. “I wanted to be in on the joke. Maybe next time, I’ll be the one being fooled. But if I see it happening, I’ll join in like I knew.”
Dan Yeffa said he too was excited to see reactions, making the Quad an ideal location for the event, because so many people pass through.
“It went really well,” said Yeffa, a sophomore anthropology major. “Better than I thought it would. Everyone is pretty happy with it.”
Though a second flash mob has not yet been planned, Schmidt said to look for it in the future.
“I would love to do it again,” Schmidt said. “And I want more people to participate.”
– Text by BECKY PETERSON
awesome