Lying on concrete may not be comfortable, but on Tuesday about 20 students decided to do it anyway, admiring a sideways view of Turlington Plaza on a chilly afternoon.
In a flash mob to raise awareness for low-income and first-generation college students, members of Gators' College Access Network gathered in the plaza and all simultaneously tumbled to the ground.
Wearing white shirts and blue jeans, the group started counting out loud to 26 and then dropped to the ground at exactly 12:43 p.m. The act was meant to represent the one student who drops out of high school every 26 seconds, according to 20-year-old Andrew Hecht, president of the Gators' College Access Network.
The senior history and political science double major has seen the statistic firsthand.
"A bunch of my Broward friends dropped out of high school," Hecht said. "I felt it was my responsibility that we strive to make sure that future students don't face the same challenges."
The flash mob was held to promote the Educational Access Summit at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Reitz Union Rion Ballroom.
"We want to bring together students from across campus," Hecht said. "Together, we can fix the education system."
About 15 students drop down onto the pavement in the middle of Turlington Plaza on Tuesday afternoon, representing the students who drop out of high school every 26 seconds in the U.S. Read the story at alligator.org.
