Dean Munson treated to Halloween surprise
Eshwar ThirunavukkarasuNovember 1st, 2009
This past Friday marked the fourth annual Halloween party hosted by dean of engineering David Munson on North Campus but, this year, the event took an unexpected, thrilling turn.
As the afternoon classes ended, Munson strolled across the north campus Diag dressed as a goal post accompanied by his wife, Nancy, who donned a referee’s uniform. The couple led a parade of faculty members also dressed in an assortment of Halloween-inspired costumes.
Posing as jellyfish, cowboys, and swine flu, faculty members handed out candy to students walking across campus. Dressed as a fish, one faculty member handed out fake dollar bills, telling passersby in deadpan delivery that he was a loan shark.
Then the North Campus clock tower began chiming. Well after 1 p.m., the usual tune was replaced by something more sinister as a group of students—dressed as zombies—staggered slowly across one corner of the Diag toward Munson.
The group of about 15 students stopped short of the parade just as the clock tower stopped playing. Placed nearby, loudspeakers began playing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, and, for the next five minutes, students, faculty, and staff stood transfixed, watching a group of zombies dance on the Diag.
Organized through the Office of Student Affairs at the College of Engineering, the Halloween event was intended to surprise Munson.
“Having that group of students perform the Michael Jackson routine was a complete surprise but a nice addition to our festivities,” Munson said.
Munson, who began the Halloween tradition when he took office in 2006, said the parade was one way to highlight the exciting student atmosphere on north campus.
“On north campus, we work hard 99 percent of the time,” he said. “The other one percent of the time, we play really hard.”
Terence Chua, a junior in the College of Engineering, led the student group as the Michael Jackson stand-in. A member of funKtion—an all-male hip-hop dance group at the University, Chua recorded videos of himself dancing to Thriller and led a rehearsal prior to Friday’s event.
Chua, an international student, said he was inspired by a YouTube video he saw when he was in Singapore showcasing the “Running of the Pac Man” – a stunt performed in 2006 by university students in the Fishbowl.
“Not everyone gets to do something for the campus on that kind of a scale,” Chua said. “I just wanted to do something for the College of Engineering and learn the ‘Thriller’ dance too.”
Jennifer Wegner, the student affair program manager, helped coordinate the event alongside Lizzie Cammarata, the senior Secretary in the Office of Student Affairs.
“The enthusiasm and the fact that a lot of people were out there on a misty Friday afternoon was just fantastic,” Wegner said. “I think they really pulled it off.”
Wegner and Cammarata, who jointly came up with the idea in jest, decided to actually put the plan in motion as the Halloween season drew closer.
“It was fabulous that we could just get people walking, minding their own business, to stop and check out the dance,” Cammarata said. “It’s going to have to be bigger and better in the future.”
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:47:28 -0500