The freshmen girls of McDonald Hall’s second floor have come up with a comical way of documenting their experience at ACU. Beginning second semester, they have been working on their own reality show.
What started as a joke soon evolved into a fun hall activity after Julia Curtis, freshman English major from Quito, Ecuador, began filming and compiling candid moments of the girls.
“This wasn’t a plan where ‘oh lets film these videos so that we can have community!’ but it definitely ended up that way,” Curtis said.
The video’s composition is similar to that of the television series The Office, complete with close ups and comical pranks. Even the theme song is catchy, composed by resident Jaclyn Hurt, freshman music major from League City, to personalize the videos.
Every episode focuses on a different topic, which usually addresses a trend of the previous week. For example, a few episodes cover the Super Bowl, Sing Song and midterm week. With 90% unscripted scenes, the other 10% being recreated moments, the videos often include embarrassingly funny shots of the hall’s first reaction to the events.
Becca Clay, senior speech pathology major from Salt Lake City, Utah, plays a major role in the episodes as the floor’s residence assistant. Clay said the videos are also helping to break down stereotypes of the freshman hall.
“McDonald is kind of known as a place where the weird freaks live, but in reality that’s not true,” Clay said. “And I think that it’s kind of cool that people can see how much fun we do have in McDonald.”
Clay and Curtis said the project has created a stronger sense of community among the hall while also popularizing it among fellow students. What they originally intended to be a hobby for the hall has now become entertainment for many viewers.
Social media sites have aided in promoting the videos. Sharing the first episode via Facebook resulted in 500 views just a few days after it was released. Because of these sites, family and friends can experience the ACU community without even leaving their home.
“Don’t be afraid to be creative in creating a community,” Curtis said. “Don’t be afraid to reach out for community and create a voice that you wouldn’t originally think of.”
New videos are released every Sunday afternoon, and can be viewed on YouTube under the username McDonald Hall. With the exception of spring break, the hall has recorded and uploaded an episode each week.
