"This ain't a capella" said student hosts Jay Kahn, Chris Harte, and Matt Kulkin, better known as WMFO's Poppychulo Show, as they opened the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate-sponsored Rap Off and Freestyle Charity Benefit last night. The event, which raised money for the Leukemia Society of America, is one of several occasions on campus this fall where student groups hosted a fun or entertaining event in order to raise money for a charitable cause.
Approximately 300 Tufts students gathered in Dewick/MacPhie for the event, which will donate all $1,000 of its proceeds to the Leukemia Society of America. Two weeks ago, the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) Homecoming semi-formal raised over $6,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Medford, and attracted a crowd of 550 students.
In the cases of both events, organizers report that they chose to sell fun to raise money for charity because they thought it would be an effective way to get students involved with community service.
"We wanted to put on an event where the primary function was to raise money for Leukemia, but also an event that would draw people out here, instead of just sitting at a table and asking for donations," Senate Vice President Eric Greenberg said.
"We wanted to raise awareness, and we wanted to have the Tufts community to go out and have a really good time," said senior Dan Landman, president of LCS.
Wednesday's show was divided into two parts - a rap off featuring acts by some well-known campus rivals and a freestyle contest that was open to the entire Tufts community. Tufts Democrats President Greg Propper and the Tufts Republicans Co-President Sam Dangremond were the first to compete, and they "rapped off" about the upcoming election through their own applicable versions of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air Theme," and "Eminem's The Real Slim Shady."
Daniel Barbarisi of The Tufts Daily and Brock McCormack of The Observer squared off next, followed by Budget Coordinator Frank Nocito versus Student Activities Office Program Coordinator Ed Cabellon, and then Craig Waldman and Larry Harris, the former TCU Judiciary chair and former TCU Senate president, respectively.
The rap off portion of the event ended with Senate executive board members Greenberg, Dave Moon, and Michele Shelton rapping about the campus party scene against Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, who sported a sideways visor, baggy pants, and a tank-top for the occasion.
The participants agreed that the event was a great example of a way to provide students with entertainment without alcohol.
"I participated because I wanted to get the message out that there are active Republicans on this campus," Dangremond said. "I think this is a perfect example of how the University can sponsor events and people will come and enjoy themselves, and its not a frat party."
"One of the senate's goals," Greenberg said, " is to offer a social event for each month to provide other social options for students."
The show continued with a quick round of "The Dating Game," where two freshmen won a date to Avalon Thursday night. After, junior Bruce Reese prevailed over five other Tufts students and one alumnus to win the freestyle portion of the rap competition.
Reese echoed the sentiments of event organizers that selling entertainment is a great way to involve students in helping others. "I had so much fun tonight," Reese said, "It's great to do something for charity. This was fun, and it was for charity. Those two things, you can't beat."
The idea for a rap off was spawned after Nocito told senators that he will be running in a marathon to benefit Leukemia research in December.
The Senate was able to get most of the services need for free or a reduced rate, so almost all proceeds of the event will go to the Leukemia Society of America. The popularity of the show caused Greenberg to suggest making it an annual event.
"We hope to do it again, we are just getting our feet wet with it," he said.
