They're going on a trip in a crowdfunded rocket ship.
Disney Channel's morning programming for little kids, Disney Junior (formerly Playhouse Disney) broadcasts a host of shows about loving learning and having fun with friends. College is a lot like Disney Junior in that way. So, it's no surprise that a student organization on campus has been created around one of its shows.
College Students for Little Einsteins held their first interest meeting today in the little space to the left when you walk into Lenoir. Inspired by the Disney Junior show, College Students for Little Einsteins emphasize the importance of learning about classical music and renaissance art.
"I recognized Rousseau's Tiger in a Tropical Storm before I knew my own mother's face," said junior biomedical engineering major and CSLE founder Nathan Derringer. "'Little Einsteins' teaches lessons that anyone can learn, whether you're ten or twenty-one."
The group has about 16 members so far. They get together each Friday night and reenact an episode of the hit TV series, complete with musical accompaniment and a huge papier-mache rocket. The locations of their performances change weekly depending on whether or not maintenance people kick them out of the building.
"It just ain't right," Carolina Union maintenance worker Laverne Cox said. "A bunch of grown people dressed like little kids talking to themselves about rocket ships and Van Gogh...it's just weird."
Derringer is a strong defender of their "weirdness."
"There are some who don't understand the purpose of our organization," Derringer said. "But, to quote our great leader Leo, we've got a mission and it's not to please everyone."
College Students for Little Einsteins is currently working on diversifying membership, as the African American character Quincy has been played by a white man, an Asian woman and Derringer's pet Labradoodle.
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