Students Rejoice as COVID-19 Halts BFA's Reign of Terror

Photo Credit: Wix

CENTER FOR THE ARTS – Although it’s been a burdensome school year like no other, many students have found the silver lining in the new COVID-19 campus safety measures being taken. Specifically, students are rejoicing over the humbling limitations on Bachelor of Fine Arts programs and COVID policies that have revised much of the production season, miraculously subduing the god-complex of BFA’s.

The trepidation regarding the packs of BFA’s that travel in flocks across campus is common among non-BFA Elon students. Sophomore Ruby Johnson, who lived on the floor under the Global Performing Arts LLC her freshman year, opened up about the turmoil she experienced from her old living circumstance in her interview with A.S.S. Despite never listening to a musical voluntarily, Johnson explained that she still felt “scarily close to a community she wanted nothing to do with”.

“Here I am a year later, and I still can’t get the words to the 'Guns and Ships' rap out of my head... but like, only in the voices of the LLC residents...which somehow feels like more punishment," recalled Johnson, tearfully. "It’s ingrained in my memory forever. It’s something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.”

Though fortunate that the pandemic has stifled the energies of the performing arts majors for the time being, students still feel shaken from past experiences with performing arts peers, before masks subdued any of the profuse energy that terrorized campus. Others report feeling on-edge about what the post-COVID campus will look like once the attention-starved BFAs can act up again.

“The thing is, it’s never just one of them,” Said Junior Ella Lloyd, a communications major who has had many jarring run-ins with BFAs. She cited one particularly frightening encounter, when a music theatre major clad in a full body hamburger costume unknowingly boxed her out while “taking a five”; one of many odd theatre phrases used to further ostracize non-BFAs.

“The scary part is that sometimes, you can’t tell who is a BFA until you’re surrounded by more than one...and by then it’s too late,” Lloyd somberly reflected.

In a time where a pandemic deprives the world of so much hope, there may be blessings in disguise for the brave students that have faced immense torment. If you or someone you know have been impacted, call the anonymous support hotline at (336)-678-24601. Avoid Arts West, Center for the Arts, and the Lakeside area among other heavily theatrical zones. If you feel unsafe or encounter a group of BFAs when walking alone, the SAPAB (Student’s Against Performing Arts Bitches) offers a nighttime ride service that can be contacted via the support hotline.