CMU's first official rave "electrifies" campus, supports The Go Effect
The dance floor in Finch Fieldhouse Saturday night was full of students feeling heavy electronic beats in white shirts, glow paint and bright colors.
Tyler Belote helped with crowd control during CMU’s first official rave, Electrify CMU, and said students would love the atmosphere once they entered.
“It’s set up just like a rave,” the Oakland freshman said, “so it’s going to be fun for students.”
Port Huron sophomore Kierstin DeWitt helped organize the event and said all 350 wrist bands were given out, but that attendance exceeded that number.
“We had just under 500 people show up,” she said.
The inception of Electrify CMU came with Northville senior Jesse Ozimek’s experiences with electronic music in Metro Detroit. The Merrill Hall resident assistant said she wanted to bring what she loves about the genre to Central Michigan University.
“I’m an electronic freak so I decided to put this event into action. I’ve been to so many different electronic events in Detroit it makes it feel as if electronic music is unknown on campus,” she said. “This is my way of showing CMU students what the electronic scene is and what it has to offer.”
Lake Orion resident Brad Lawrence trekked from Detroit to Mount Pleasant so he could sell glowing t-shirts and show off colorful paintings.
“I’m here today to spread color to the show,” he said. “I know people who are here so I came out to bring visually stimulating paintings under black light.”
Several disc jockeys took turns spinning different kinds of electronic music during the night, each with a different feel.
Emily Waddill, a Swartz Creek sophomore, said she was excited to attend Electrify CMU.
“I’ve never been to a rave before so I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “This was awesome and it shows that CMU has some pretty cool school events.”
Waddill was surprised to see how much went on during the night.
“The best part about this event is we’re selling glow sticks and water bottles, they are going to a charity called The Go Effect,” Belote said.
Members of the the charity are scheduled to head to Africa and build a hospital.
All of the money raised at Electrify CMU was donated to helping their efforts.
“I’m glad I could help bring this (event) to CMU,” Ozimek said. “Hopefully everyone learned about something they may not have otherwise known, like what a cool culture electronic really is.”
