Coal Free Mizzou swarmed Lowry Mall at exactly 12:21 p.m. Thursday afternoon to the phrase, “Let’s get ready to rumble,” in a surprise flash mob.
Clothed in matching yellow “Beyond Coal” T-shirts, the group showcased dance moves ranging from the Macarena to the “Bernie.”
“It was a great experience, and I hope a lot of people watched because it was fun to do,” freshman Natalie Emmons said. “We probably got a lot of strange looks, but I didn’t really care. I was going crazy and getting my groove on.”
The flash mob was the kick-off to the group’s “Better Air, Better Football, Better Mizzou” Homecoming initiative, which celebrates the centennial Homecoming celebration while furthering the clean air movement.
“The flash mob is untraditional, but it goes along with the Homecoming theme,” Sierra Club organizer Lindsay Berger said. “The victory dance is a way of showing that, in order for us to live healthy, active lifestyles, we need to have clean air.”
The event, which featured a mock end zone and a homemade goal post, took more than two weeks and 40 hours of planning to execute. Some held “100 Years=100% Clean” and “I love clean air” signs, while others donned neon green spandex body suits.
“We have been tabling every day the last week,” Coal Free Mizzou president Sarah Johnson said. “We had a core team of about 10 working on this and someone from the Sierra Club as well. It was pretty manageable, just a few late (nights) of working.”
Over 50 people participated in the victory dance.
“We turned on the song and some people closed their eyes so they wouldn’t be embarrassed,” Berger said. “We had 22 people who knew exactly what they were doing. We were confident that at least 50 people would show up.”
The initiative is a small portion of a larger campaign to retire the on-campus coal plant. The two-year campaign has collected more than 2,000 petition signatures.
“I think students are at the forefront of every major social event in history,” Coal Free Mizzou member Taylor Dankmyer said. “Now we are fighting for clean energy. We are not the only school trying to do this. Nationwide there are kids trying to push universities to try to move beyond coal and other energy solutions.”
The aim of the flash mob was to encourage students to join and spread awareness of coal plant pollution. Coal Free Mizzou is pushing MU Chancellor Brady Deaton to switch to a different energy source by 2020.
“I think it would be wonderful for people to see a flash mob and think, ‘Wow, that’s really awesome,’” Berger said. “Then they would see it’s a Coal Free event and really take notice of our message. In order for us to be the best, we need clean air right now and we don’t have that.”
The group received the level of participation and interest they had expected.
“I think we got the reaction we wanted,” Coal Free Mizzou member Alexandra Rather said. “We wanted to show everyone what we are all about, that we care and that we want other people to care. We want this to happen.”