The Power Down Tuesdays Campaign held their launch event at Nolan's this Tuesday with Carrie Bennett reading from Adam Mansbach's book, Go the F**k to Sleep, a book detailing, in a humorous way, the frustrations that come with trying to get a child to go to sleep.
Bennett quickly drew a crowd as people gathered around, listened intently and laughed heartily.
Following the reading, the group had interactive trivia for the audience where they gave away free t-shirts, water bottles and candy. They also gave out postcards for their upcoming raffle.
The event was held by a group of students from the class "Understanding Behavior Change: Theory and Application" with Professor Lisa Kristin Folda. The class is based around how to organize and run a public health campaign.
They were split up into four separate groups and this particular group chose to focus on sleep deprivation and raising awareness.
"I attended the event because I wanted to learn about sleep deprivation. As a typical Hopkins student, I don't really sleep so I wanted to learn more about the topic," sophomore Marisa Babb said.
The student group running the event did have a main goal besides spreading awareness.
"Mainly what we want to see is people shut off electronics before sleep so that they get a better night's rest," sophomore Deanna Cotsalas, one of the planners of the event, explained.
Bennett gathered an audience once she got settled in her own rocking chair that she brought from home. She sat comfortably in her very own robe.
"We chose Carrie because she's a familiar face. She's like our celebrity model. We thought she would read it best," Cotsalas said.
Bennett adapted the reading to fit Hopkins's own personal style. With the mention of Loyola University, Maxie's and Wawa, she had the audience laughing fairly regularly.
"No, you can't go to Wawa. Go to sleep!" Bennett exclaimed at one point.
"I expected it to be a lot more straight facts at you but it was really interactive and funny so it was a great way to learn everything," sophomore Sydney Rooney said.
The group chose Mansbach's book because of a reading Samuel L. Jackson had done of it in the past. They thought having Bennett read it would provide an interesting and humorous parody of his past reading.
When asked if the group took any measures to ensure that even those who did not know of the original reading would understand the humor behind the reading, Cotsalas explained that they had sent out Facebook links about it even though it was fairly well known.
Students reacted very positively to the event because of both the subject matter as well as the trivia at the end.
"I was only expecting a reading. The trivia at the end was a surprise but it added greatly to the event and made it much more interesting and interactive," sophomore Divya Kernik said.
Many students confessed that Bennett was one of their main reasons for attending at all.
"She's hilarious!" Rooney said, after listening to her adaption of Mansbach's book.
"She's a really interesting person and everyone knows her. I think it was more fun with her reading it rather than someone students don't know," Babb explained.
The group planning the event was pleased with the reading's success. With an uncertain beginning, they weren't sure what to expect.
"I think it went pretty well. I'm happy that once we started talking into the microphone, everyone started crowding around. It was kind of cute too. Carrie was like Mama Carrie," Cotsalas said.
"I enjoyed Carrie's rocking chair," Kernik added.
The group has also planned a raffle that they handed out tickets for. Students must turn off their electronics at midnight. Then they have to record on their raffle ticket what they do for the hour following before they go to bed. Once they hand in the raffle ticket, they're qualified to win some great prizes, including a copy of Mansbach's book signed by Carrie.
The event seemed to deliver the intended response.
"I learned that I should sleep more," Babb said.
The Power Down Tuesdays Campaign will be running for three more weeks.
