The Weekend Guys call for renewed enthusiasm on campus
All photos by Rhianna Barrow.
Every Friday for the past two semesters, a group of Lee students can be spotted dressed up in morph suits and dancing across campus to celebrate the weekend.
Officially known as The Weekend Guys, the group of friends were inspired by a similar idea they saw at another university. The group aims to spread positivity and excitement among their peers.
“[We] saw that the campus could use some more fun and some light, especially this year during COVID-19,” said Space Spidey, a longtime member of the group.
As they embark on a mission to bring cheer to students on campus, some students have recognized the group as a significant part of their semester.
“They remind us that it’s okay to be silly and have a good time even in the midst of a pandemic. They remind us that the weekend can be anything we make it,” said junior TESOL major Ashley Sims.
While some costumes have remained constant, the group explained their members have grown since the beginning, with some of the members beneath the costumes changing weekly. They have gained upwards of 20 members over the past year.
For The Weekend Guys, their main purpose goes beyond their physical presence on campus.
“This has never been about who’s behind the mask,” said Space Spidey. “So if a group of guys or girls decides that they want to carry on the tradition, in some sense, I think we would love to see that.”
Grabbing the attention of more than just their peers, District 2 Councilman and Dean of the College of Education Bill Estes noted their presence and impact on campus.
“At first, I didn’t know what to make of these [students]. I had to just stop and watch,” said Estes. “I have watched them enough to guess that they just want to make people laugh, dance and have a good time.”
For The Weekend Guys, scheduling this semester has been more difficult than the prior semester, but the group has been encouraged by faculty and students to continue showing up each week.
“A few weeks ago, I got there about five minutes before the other guys,” said Space Spidey. “I had to just sit on a bench near the PCSU and wait it out. Alan McClung made his way over, gave me a finger gun, and said ‘thank you for your service to this campus, young man’ and went on his way.”
The logistics of this group are handled by group member, Green Guy.
“I bring the speaker, sign and costumes to a rendezvous point,” said Green Guy. “Other group members meet up, change, and we turn our speaker on and head from that location to the PCSU. I’m definitely the getaway driver, and we head to another rendezvous point and disappear into the day.”
Beginning with a small speaker, the group has since adapted to best fit the needs of campus.
“We started with only a handheld speaker … no one could hear us,” said Orange. “A girl yelled, ‘you guys need a bigger speaker!’ and we took that personally.”
The group committed to spreading music for students to hear and soon acquired a large speaker to do so.
“I definitely think they’ve given students another thing to look forward to every week,” said senior business major Stephen Carter. “Whether people genuinely think it’s funny or even if they think it’s corny, you can’t see them and not laugh and have an enjoyable moment. They brought energy to our campus in a time where it has been difficult to do so!”
“We’re not trying to do anything crazy, nothing big,” Space Spidey said. “We’ve just been trying to have a lot of fun and help some other people have some fun.”
The Weekend Guys can be found around the Paul Conn Student Union every Friday at noon.
“I would like to invite everyone out to join us to dance,” said Orange. “We want people to join us. We really love it. Come out and dance with us!”
