As students gathered on the grass, sidewalks and the steps of the Doudna Fine Arts Center, anticipation of the whistle blow grew as 11:55 a.m. approached.

Passers by stared as they walked past the Doudna steps Wednesday, where clusters of students sat and waited for the two-minute “flash mob” demonstration to begin.

According to Dictionary.com, a flash mob is “a group of people who organize on the Internet and then quickly assemble in a public place, do something bizarre, and disperse.”

Word of the She Dances of Eastern Illinois University event was spread over Facebook and by word of mouth.

Shane Whalen, of Charleston, heard about the event in this way.

“Well, what else are you going to do when it’s cold outside?” Whalen said.

Once the whistle blew, the music started to play and everyone gathered on and around the Doudna steps, including Whalen, and broke out into dance.

Some danced in place, some jumped up and down and some joined in on a conga line.

Within those two minutes, students joined together in a moment of random dance and sang together as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” played from a boom box.

The goal of the demonstration: to raise awareness of human trafficking.

Victoria Greer, a junior elementary education major and treasurer of She Dances, got involved with She Dances because of her passion for the people of Honduras.

Through her visits to Honduras, Greer has been able to put faces with the issue of sex trafficking.

“Knowing that there is such a huge sex-trafficking industry (in Honduras), it’s just really heart breaking,” Greer said.

Ben Pearcy, a senior communications studies major, heard about the event from a friend.

“I think that raising awareness for the cause is really important,” he said.

Pearcy also said he thinks the organization should do more flash mobs like Wednesday’s event.

Jen O’Brien, a junior biological sciences major and She Dances member, was nervous in the moments leading up to the demonstration.

“I was really afraid that there was only going to be 10 or 15 people dancing, but just how enthusiastic people were, just to get up and start dancing for the cause, is pretty exciting,” she said.

O’Brien, who said she is a shy person, found it weird to randomly start dancing, but had fun.

“I actually was kind of nervous about it because I didn’t want to look like an idiot, but then once everyone started dancing, I got over it,” O’Brien said.

Sam Bohne can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].