Over 300 students trekked through the snow last Friday evening and packed into the Westco Café for beCAUSE, a celebration with a cause. For a donation of at least two dollars, students at beCAUSE watched University improv groups Gag Reflex and New Teen Force, a cappella groups Quasimodal and The New Group, and musical guest The Management.
beCause, a benefit extraordinaire put on by nine students, raised money for an alternative spring break trip to rural Mexico in March. The students who organized the evening will be going through the American Jewish World Services (AJWS) to San Miguel de Allende, a village in need of assistance with the maintenance of its community based reproductive health clinic, El Centro Para Los Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende (C.A.S.A.)
“We’re going to help out with whatever they nee—leaning up the river, painting some of the building—nd some of us who can speak Spanish well might even get to help out with counseling at the clinic,” said Lily Walkover ’07, one of the students participating in the program.
“This program’s so great because it doesn’t say ‘we’re here, give us something to do.’ AJWS finds places that need help and asks ‘What do you need?’ We’re very excited to go down and get started,” said Haley Stokar ’06.
Stokar explained that though the trip is rooted in the Jewish tradition of service, there is no element of missionary work involved.
So why did people attend the benefit show?
“I think it’s amazing that all the groups are performing here at the same time, especially for such a great cause,” said Vincent Vecchione ’07 as Chloe Safier ’06 took to the stage to announce the first act, Gag Reflex.
Gag’s Corey Harrower ’06 opened up the night with a monologue about his adventures with spandex shorts. The six-person group’s long form improvisation was a flurry of dancing livers, XXXL Trojan condoms, a software writer in a loincloth, and Harrower as a shirtless pope with ‘Atheist’ tattooed on his chest. He proclaimed: “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you realize there’s no God.”
Next came Quasimodal, who opened with Alanis Morissette’s “You Learn,” followed by Eleanor Terry ’05 singing Erasure’s “A Little Respect.” As the group finished their abbreviated set with John Wesley ’06 singing Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out With Him.” Desperate Measures members Dana Raviv ’06, Adam Hetland ’05 and Tom Bendon ’07 joined Quasimodal, much to the delight of the crowd. The crossover between groups was perhaps the most enjoyable part of the evening.
This crossover segued into a performance by Desperate Measures who, dressed all in plaid, did an interpretive dance to Max Goldblatt’s ’05 rendition of “Time after Time.” DM performed numerous short skits that included party guests Janet Jackson, Don Quixote, and Adam (of the Bible). The group finished with a fairly violent round of Celebrity ramming featuring Mr. Potato-head, Howard Dean and other surprise guests.
The New Group, who sang three soulful, alternative songs, followed Desperate Measures. They opened with Ani Difranco’s “Going Down.” Although Kingston Hong ’06 forgot the words to Brian McKnight’s “6-8-12” and had to start over again, his excellent performance was well worth the interruption. The group closed with Jeff Buckley’s “Grace.”
The last performers of the evening, The Management, strayed from their usual electronica fare and put on an acoustic show. As they played bongos and guitars in their sunglasses, the energetic crowd danced and sang along.
Overall, the night was a huge success, raising $800 for the trip to Mexico. The crowd went home happy to have seen so many exciting performances.
“I give it five stars!” said audience member Bridget Palardy ’05 while laughing and dancing.
For more information about the organizations involved in the trip to Mexico, please visit the following websites:
http://www.sanmiguel-casa.org/casa/mainframe.htm
http://www.ajws.org
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