SigEp brother and official “goon” Alain Colas brandished a baton and riot shield while harassing students, pushing them out of line and telling them to “shut up.”
“Step away from the cookie!” Colas later yelled at a student, who shoved the cookie in his mouth to avoid getting it smacked out of his hand.
Sure, there was free food in the Kingdom of the Socialist States of the People’s Republic of Boca Raton, but the “goons” made sure students didn’t have their First Amendment rights, which grant them the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, press and the right to petition the government for grievances.
Monday marked Constitution Day, a federally mandated holiday every publicly funded institution must recognize [see side bar]. Junior Michele Boyet and University Press adviser Michael Koretzky decided that students should recognize their freedom on this day by having it taken away. Students theoretically signed away their First Amendment rights in order to receive a free lunch.
“We wanted to do something unique and interactive,” Boyet said. “The best way to reach college students is through their stomachs.”
Once they signed their rights away, students received free food from Breezeway favorites such as Quizno’s, Wendy’s and Starbucks. Once they entered through the eight-foot communist gate and gave their signature, their rights were revoked.
Freshman Teddy Pierre-Louis said he came early and knew exactly what to expect.
“I knew what was supposed to happen,” Pierre-Louis said. “I came alone and didn’t sit with anyone I knew.”
When asked if he had to choose between life and food, Pierre-Louis didn’t hesitate with his response.
“It’s better to live free than eat free. Food is only temporary.”
This is the second year that Boyet has received funding to put on the event. Last year, this event was the first of its kind to be held at any college campus in the country. The second time around, Boyet said, was even bigger and better.
“More money, more volunteers, more club involvement and more food,” Boyet said. “Last year we spent $1,000 on food alone. This year, we’ve spent over $1,600.”
With an original amount of $1,500 from Student Government House of Representatives to be used for the event, FAU Business Services matched the $800 allotted for food by donating $800 in food provided by Chartwells catering. Business Services, which oversee all food and money services that students invest in, also donated Pepsi products for the occasion. In total, over $2,300 was spent on the event.
Junior Tim Endruschat, a second “goon,” said he opted to volunteer for the second year in a row because he wanted to demonstrate to people how lucky Americans are.
“We were showing people what life would be like when we took away their rights,” Endruschat said. “Even if we only changed five people’s perspectives, it doesn’t matter – as long as they changed.”
