Donning their raunchiest clothes and covering their faces with eerie make-up and fake gore, student leaders danced their undead hearts out on Oct. 11. It was a part of Project Z, an effort to register new voters at Citrus.
Participants in torn, dirty clothes were made up by cosmetology students. Once they had pasty skin and shadows around their eyes and were plastered with fake blood, they shuffled and twitched their way towards the Campus Center Mall.
Students participating were advised to stay in character whether they were attending classes or walking around campus. If they were asked why they were dressed like zombies they were to direct students towards booths where they could register to vote.
At 11:25, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was blasted through the speakers as approximately 40 students lined up in the quad and danced, which brought out smiles and applause from the students, faculty and administrators watching.
The songs completed, zombified dancers ushered willing students towards the booths.
The executive board of the Associated Students of Citrus College designed a series of events to raise awareness about ballot issues and to encourage students to register.
The flash-mob was dubbed Project Z, a part of student government’s Rock the Vote campaign. Project Z was organized by student government commissioner of community relations, Art Corral. He said that the flash mob was about more than just having fun; it was a way to fight student apathy.
“We are here to rock the vote. We figure that if you’re not using your voice you might as well be dead,” he said.
The zombified students were wearing “Rock the Vote” messages. Neftali Perez, a 20-year-old film major and member of Latinos Unidos explained why she was wearing her sign.
“To stand out. Read it,” she boldly replied.
Even superintendent/president Geraldine Perri was seen wearing zombie make-up and enjoying the festivities.
The Rock the Vote campaign has been underway for months. It has included signs, registration stands on campus and the Debate Watch series. The purpose of Project Z was to give the Rock the Vote campaign more momentum before the Nov. 6 elections.
ASCC officers signed up first, then invited classmates and friends to participate. They created a group on Facebook in order to spread instructions about the event “We wanted to bring the community together, the whole Citrus community together and I think it did that pretty effectively,” said ASCC president Andy Navarro.
ASCC officers say that they want students to become more involved at Citrus and activites are planned with that goal in mind.
With approximately one hundred students watching, videotaping, tweeting and posting on Facebook about Project Z, the mob drew the attention of the masses.
