It was standing room only on Thursday as students crowded in Gaither Gymnasium to gear up for the first home football game of the year at the pep rally and comedy show.
Sponsored by the Franklin and Love Administration of the Student Government Association, the show lasted from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
With the comedy and speaker series being a part of his platform, Student Body vice-president Breyon Love said it was necessary that the student body provide moral support for the football team as they go into their first home game.
“Campus moral is an extremely important aspect of student life, and we felt it necessary to have a pep rally to boost that moral,” said Love, 20, a third-year accounting student from Atlanta.
“It’s the rattler spirit that brought all these students out to the event. The students wanted to come out and show how much they support our athletics department.”
Attendance was not an issue as seats were hard to find. Many students resorted to sitting on the floor and standing on the sides of the gym. Camille Freeman, 18, a second-year criminal justice student from Columbia, Md., said she enjoyed the event but wished it were in a bigger venue.
“I thought it was a good turnout, I didn’t think as many people would come as there was,” Freeman said. “I think we should have had it in the big gym (Lawson), Gaither was too hot.”
While the crowd waited for the show to begin, the Marching “100” Band performed songs by artists such as Chris Brown, Bone Crusher and Soldier Boy, causing students to get out of their seats and dance in the stands.
The pep rally portion began around 9:30 p.m. as DJ Will the Thrill and hosts Paulethia Bryant and Michael Woodward took over the floor. The crowd jumped to their feet as free ‘I Represent’ t-shirts and book bags were thrown into the stands. Finally, after introducing the athletic department and the football team, the pep rally turned into the comedy show.
Hosted by Cdawg, a comedian from Atlanta, this portion consisted of comedy and poetry by Kelly Walker and Georgia. Comedian Kelly Walker, or Kdubb, said he enjoyed his first time at Florida A&M.
“I liked the whole little vibe,” Walker said. “I like this school. I used to see this school on TV when I was young in Memphis and now I’m sitting in the gym.”
During the comedy segment, many students were seen laughing, clapping and stomping their feet at the jokes. Jessica Allen, 18, a first-year accounting student from Atlanta said she thought highly of the comedians.
“Everybody was live,” Allen said. “All the comedians were on point.”
While some students thought the comedians were funny, others found some of the jokes and language to be offensive.
“I was tired of all the sex talk,” Freeman said. “I didn’t like how some of the girls were representing their selves.”
Love said he went through measures to ensure a censored show, but plans to enforce censorship in the future.
“One thing I would do differently is ask for a script for comedian or poets coming to campus,” Love said. “Sometimes even if you tell them to make it a censored show they might slip up a little too much.”
Overall Love says he thinks the event was an accomplishment.
“The biggest challenge in putting on an event such as this is logistics, but everyone from the Franklin and Love administration did a great job of playing their part and making this pep rally a success.”