ESSO Lip Sync Battle

On Friday night, students celebrating the end of a stressful week packed into Agora for the Exeter Student Service Organization (ESSO) Lip Sync Battle. As everyone gathered in front of the stage, snacking on pizza, senior Winslow MacDonald and upper Emily Cloonan took to the stage as hosts to kick off a night full of music, laughter and friends.

The Exeter Refugee Project and Amnesty International co-hosted the event to raise money for Rohingya refugees, an ethnic minority currently being subjected to oppression and violence in their home country, Myanmar. By the end of the night, the clubs had raised $188 to add to the $272 they had previously raised at bake sales supporting the cause.

“We had an amazing time dancing to ‘Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls. We mainly goofed around on stage, but it was also so much fun to dance and watch all the other groups do their songs. Plus, it was all for a great cause!”

The Exeter Refugee Project worked closely with seniors Pedro Sanson and Molly Canfield, co-heads of Amnesty International, upper Emily Cloonan, a member of Amnesty International, and Elizabeth Reyes, the ESSO coordinator and adviser to both clubs, to organize these fundraisers. “Our fundraiser was sending money to BRAC, which is an organization in Bangladesh that helps provide medical care, shelter, food and clothing to the Rohingya refugees that do get to flee to Bangladesh,” senior and co-head of the Exeter Refugee Project Menat Bahnasy said.

After watching a video of the Groton School’s lip sync battle, Sanson brought up the idea of hosting one as a fundraiser. The clubs decided against an entry fee, but instead sold pizza and asked for donations, as their goal was to educate students about their cause. Earlier this term, the clubs had hosted a bake sale at two hockey games to gather donations. “We decided to put together a fun event that would attract a large number of students, and, at the same time, enable us to have an outlet to raise awareness and fundraise,” Sanson explained.

However, lower Nick Schwarz expressed that the purpose of the fundraiser should have been more clear, as he wasn’t sure what the lip sync battle’s proceeds were going towards. “I only saw the word ‘refugees’, so I don’t know why they are refugees. I don’t know where the money is going to go to help them,” Schwarz said. “But if people need help, it’s a great thing that the school’s trying to help them.”

Upper Eugene Hu, who performed twice with “A Friend Like Me” from the movie “Aladdin” and “I’m Back to Rise” by Mick Gordon voiced that the Lip Sync Battle was a good choice for a fundraiser, as it allowed any member of the community to enjoy and participate in the event. “At the end of the day, it’s for a good cause, and everybody has fun. It’s a win on both levels,” he said.

Upper Heidi Lichtl deeply enjoyed the concept of the Lip Sync Battle, saying that “we had an amazing time dancing to ‘Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls. We mainly goofed around on stage, but it was also so much fun to dance and watch all the other groups do their songs. Plus, it was all for a great cause!” Bahnasy agreed with Lichtl, expressing her satisfaction with the success of the fundraiser. “We thought it would just be really fun because we had a lot of groups from different areas of campus come to join us and perform,” she said.

Bahnasy also mentioned how it was exciting to see performances that were planned out as well as those that were more spontaneous. “I think people just wanted something to do on a Friday night, and it was just great to see them go up there and pretend to sing and dance and have fun on stage,” she said.

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