CMU flashmob ‘sneaks’ around MAINstage

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Sometimes people may get the feeling they are being followed.

But one individual had a very good reason to feel that way Sunday.

A group of approximately 50 Central Michigan University students participated in a flashmob called “The Sneak” at Sunday’s MAINstage event.

The flashmob, a group that performs unusual public acts for a brief time before dispersing, met beforehand to discuss their stunt. They arranged for a participant to pretend to be clueless as they followed her around MAINstage.

“I just wanted to try it to see peoples’ reactions to it,” said Comstock Park freshman Matt Hapner. “My roommate got me to do it.”

The members of the flashmob walked to MAINstage to begin their stunt. After finding the woman, they slowly began to gather behind her.

She walked around, occasionally turning around to find a group of people acting like they had nothing to do with her by suddenly standing still and looking around in various directions. Eventually, the group started chasing the woman and everyone suddenly dispersed.

According to event coordinators, it is something fun and different to try out. There is some concern that people would not know what is going on, but coordinators were confident they would not get in trouble.

Some students did not understand what was going on as the event unfolded.

“I first thought, ‘That poor girl, she didn’t even do anything,’” said Grosse Ile junior Kate Coules.

However, upon realizing the group was a flashmob and the woman being followed was in on it, her reaction changed.

“I just thought it was so funny,” she said. “They just completely tricked all of us. I thought they were following a celebrity or something.”

This is the fourth time since last semester the group performed a stunt.

Previous stunts included a game of follow-the-leader, eating lunch in slow motion and pretending the sky is falling.

Coordinators hope if the flashmobs continue to go well, they will be able to organize more of them. For more information, check out the Facebook group “CMU Flashmob.”