A couple with clasped hands and stretched arms are in mid-strut and Starbucks bound, but their feet are stuck in place. They stand completely still, motionless.
At 4:20 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. on Monday, students casually walking around campus stopped dead in their tracks, remaining frozen in place for five minutes in the middle of the SU.
This second annual flash mob performance at UB was for Freeze for Humanity, a powerful student demonstration organized by Professor Susan Anner of THD 103, a theater and dance performance appreciation course. The event took place in an effort to raise consciousness on humanitarian issues.
"It was really cool," said Hoon Song, a sophomore business major. "I wanted to be a part of it."
Song was with friends in the SU when the earlier demonstration was performed. About 40 students participated in the performance, clogging up the exits of the SU. When a whistle sounded the start of their five minute pause, the familiar echoes of the busy building dipped down to a dull roar as Anner's students stood motionless and silent.
Observers of the demonstration reacted differently. Some students leaned across second floor railings to steal a peek while others curiously observed from the tables in the dining area. A group of seated girls called for their friend several times, but he remained loyal and did not speak.
"Being a part of it was a good experience," said Chris Chin, a senior psychology major.
The purpose of the flash mob demonstration was to expose reality and raise awareness of those less fortunate than the average high-strung student.
"Students get so stressed out about their exams and their papers, the really important stuff that they have to do to get through school," Anner said. "We just want to take a few moments and think about people outside of the university who are suffering even bigger difficulties than what their next paper is going to be."
Through Anner's teaching of the various dynamics of the arts, the group focused on two organizations, The Miracle Project, a theater and film program for children with autism and other special needs, and Danceability, a local organization of young people and adults with disabilities practicing dance.
"It's really good to raise money but it's also really good to just raise awareness and put things in perspective," Anner said. "The arts are for everybody, it's a process of including people with all different types of abilities and it can be very meaningful and inspiring, we just want to share that."
Though students worked hard to freeze for a cause and spread awareness, other students not traveling through the SU at that time were unable to witness the event. Through her performance appreciation class, Anner plans to continue the trend of a flash mob at the end of every spring semester around the time of finals.
"I'd like [the demonstration] to raise awareness about everything that's going on in the world right now… [there is] so much outside of right here and now that we need to be thinking about, just for a few minutes," Anner said.
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