Brody Learning Commons was packed this past Sunday evening, but not with the usual crowd of end of the weekend procrastinators. Instead, almost 300 students gathered in the lower atrium to participate in the Hopkins edition of the wildly popular Harlem Shake video.
The video was partially filmed late Saturday night, featuring senior Milton Gholston as “the starter.” After Sunday’s footage, the final product was posted to YouTube early Monday morning. It has received more than 37,000 hits since.
Seniors Andi Shahu and Mary Han organized the event and first advertised it on Facebook via a massive event invitation that garnered an immediate response. Students were encouraged to wear eccentric costumes to enhance the video.
Amongst the tens of hotdog suits and glittering spandex ensembles, a few motivated fame seekers elected for more creative means to stand out from the crowd. Earning their moments of Youtube glory were senior Alec Fisher and his feline companion, Pepper the cat.
“I got on someone’s shoulders with Pepper and everyone had this ‘OMG’ moment when they saw her,” Fisher wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
“Pepper is a really ‘chill’ cat, I knew she wouldn’t get too frightened. She lives in the pike house so [the video] wasn’t extraordinary or overstimulating for her.”
Another particularly unconventional feat included the high flying act of freshmen Joseph Min and Nate Palmquist. During the second take of the video, the pair leapt over the side of the first floor banister and dangled from the railing for the filming.
“I’m not really sure what brought up the idea, but my good buddy Joseph and I were brainstorming ideas about how to be unique,” Palmquist wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
“I mentioned hanging off of the top floor of Brody, and after laughing for a bit we realized that we couldn’t not do it.”
Reflecting on the daring nature of the stunt, the dynamic duo voiced their reservations.
“Oh man, when I was hanging there, all I could think of was how bad it would be if we fell,” Min wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
“I’m pretty sure I had a stone cold face while I was hanging and bicycling my feet.”
“As we looked down and around at the jumping crowd and people lining the railings, we almost chickened out,” Palmquist wrote. “Then, the music dropped, and so did we.”
The overwhelming conclusion from all parties involved was positive. Energy and enthusiasm on both sides of the camera made the event a success.
“I thought it was really cool that Brody was set aside for 30 minutes of pure insanity,” Fisher wrote. “I would have to say the event was a huge success. That was the best school turnout for anything really.”
Despite a few controversial stunts, the well-planned filming attracted students of all organizations and social groups, felines and freshmen alike.
“The fact that we pulled this event off goes to show that the university really is willing to get behind exciting student-driven ideas that energize the rest of the student body,” Shahu wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Executive President of SGA Moses Song endorsed the event via an email blast to the student body to rally support and remind students to behave tastefully and keep the disturbance level at a minimum.
“We wanted to make sure we presented to the public and the web-community, a fun, very tasteful and an appropriate representation of Hopkins,” Song wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
“This whole event was really a celebration of unadulterated silliness, and I think it’s important to have some of these moments once in a while,” Han wrote.
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