East Carolinian

Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Staff Photo

Media Credit: Staff Photo

Since 1979, ECU students have kicked off their shoes and celebrated the tradition of Barefoot on the Mall, a collaborative effort of student organizations, community partners and entertainment vendors that join together on the university's Mall area, located in Central Campus.

Since its induction by a high school student interning at ECU, Barefoot has become an annual tradition -- occurring near the last day of regularly scheduled class -- that both freshmen and seniors look forward to attending. Live music, a step show, giveaways and free T-shirts have typically marked the time-honored tradition of Barefoot - and this year is no exception.

This year's Barefoot will focus on the traditions of the past 30 years of celebrating the event - incorporating old traditions with new ones.

"As far as old traditions, at the first few Barefoot on the Malls back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was an outdoor movie shown after the bands were done playing," said Erin Edwards, the Student Activities Board president. "We decided to bring that back for this year and show 'Accepted' at 8 p.m. on the Mall on a huge blowup screen. We also are bringing a steel drum band to play on the side stage, which used to occur back in the 1980s."

For the 30th celebration of Barefoot on the Mall, four bands will be performing live music on the Mall - two winners of Battle of the Bands and two headliners. Blount Harvey and Love & Reverie will perform as the two Battle of the Bands winners, along with the two headliner bands - Shwayze and Eric Hutchinson.

From 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., students will have the chance to browse the approximately 50 student and community organization tables and pick up a free Barefoot T-shirt -- SAB will be giving away approximately 2,200 of them - along with about 500 Barefoot on the Mall towels.

"Typically, Barefoot starts at 12 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m., but after hearing that many students can't make it because of class (since Thursday is a big class day), we decided to push it back for a few hours," Edwards said.

Edwards says that although Barefoot has cost more this year than in years past, the economic situation has not particularly affected the traditions that students enjoy at the event.

"Although it has cost more to put on Barefoot this year, especially with double headliners, [the economy] still hasn't played a major factor," she said. "Although we will definitely be using many more volunteers this year than previous years, our budget has remained the same in SAB despite the economic situation, but that isn't something that I can be sure will be the same for the 2009-2010 year."

Barefoot on the Mall expects to draw thousands of students this year - approximately 5,000 browsed the lawn last year - and Edwards says that each student should take the time to enjoy the history behind the event.

"[Barefoot is] a part of ECU's history, and it's a great tradition for students to share," Edwards said. "It's a uniting effort for students and the Greenville community and it's a great way to end the year and be relaxed and ready for exams. Freshmen can expect a massive celebration like nothing they have seen before. With people buzzing, music playing, and the smell of food filling the air, students (particularly freshmen) will see the fun that ECU students can have on campus."







This writer can be contacted at editor@theeastcarolinian.com.

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