daily californian logo

BERKELEY'S NEWS • SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Apply to The Daily Californian by September 8th!

Harlem Shake flash mob shakes its way into Doe Library

article image

SUPPORT OUR NONPROFIT NEWSROOM

We're an independent student-run newspaper, and need your support to maintain our coverage.

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

The Harlem Shake, the latest Internet dancing sensation, shook its way into Doe Memorial Library Friday afternoon when around 300 students in costume descended on the North Reading Room.

The flash mob, which was started as a Facebook group with more than 3,000 people, parodied the Harlem Shake videos. The videos generally start off with one person dancing in costume, and when the beat drops, everyone begins dancing together.

Students took the opportunity to dress up by donning Guy Fawkes masks, capes or by simply taking it all off.

One student, Vien Nguyen, said he wore his Power Rangers speedo to be unique.

“It took a lot of courage to take my pants off in front of 200 to 300 people and hump the air,” said Nguyen. “I wanted to show YouTube that speedos aren’t lame.”

The event had to be done silently due to library rules that lead to confusion on when to dance.

“It was kind of awkward,” said Akhila Raju, a UC Berkeley freshman clad in bright floral leggings, sunglasses and a bear hat. “It was awesome, though. People were jumping and dancing.”

For student Arif Ali, this was a chance to make up for missing the last Internet-inspired flash mob.

“I missed out on the Gangnam Style flash mob, and I didn’t want to miss this” said Ali. “As stereotypical as this is, you only live once.”

Contact Ally Rondoni at [email protected].
LAST UPDATED

FEBRUARY 15, 2013


Related Articles

featured article
At noon Friday, hundreds of students were out on Upper Sproul to watch a Gangnam Style flashmob as participants jived to the hit song that exploded into popularity in the last few months.
At noon Friday, hundreds of students were out on Upper Sproul to watch a Gangnam Style flashmob as participants jived to the hit song that exploded into popularity in the last few months.
featured article
featured article
Music performed by campus a cappella group DeCadence was chosen to be included in an album featuring songs by college groups nationwide.
Music performed by campus a cappella group DeCadence was chosen to be included in an album featuring songs by college groups nationwide.
featured article