Contestants sing for title of EU IDol at IJM fundraiser

“This is college. No fun!”

This proclamation from Dan Ulrich, half of comedic performing rap group Drive-Thru, was proved wrong as the voices of EU Idol’s finalists took the stage on February 16.

The night was filled with strong performances, laughter and audience interaction as the seven finalists vied for the position of Eastern University Idol.

“I really thought it was a success,” said Mallory Mussler, president of Eastern’s chapter of the International Justice Mission, who hosted the event. She estimated that about 100 students showed up.

The audience was wowed by the talents of the contestants as they sang pieces ranging from “Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da” to Etta James’ “At Last” to Steven Curtis Chapman’s “I Will Be Here.”

The event, based on the popular television show American Idol, had three rounds of performances, with two performers eliminated each round. Junior Jean Komline and senior Jenny Kasecamp were eliminated after the first round, and junior Brad Kenney and sophomore Megan Newhard were eliminated after the second.

The three finalists, first-years Alli Long and Christopher Plumberg and sophomore Jessica Spruill, gave amazing performances which caused turmoil for the judges in picking the final winner.

Long was chosen by the judges as the EU Idol after her rousing performance of Hilary Duff’s “What Dreams Are Made Of.”

Long had the audience out of their seats clapping and dancing as she commanded the stage with her energetic performance.

Besides the music, other highlights of the evening were the rap performance of Drive-Thru, composed of sophomores Ulrich and Jonathan Falcone, and the bantering of the hosts, juniors Josh Meyer and Jon Heinly.

IJM hosted the free event in hopes that people would give donations towards their $1,000 goal for this year toward freeing one forced prostitute.

Their hopes were met overwhelmingly as many Eastern students and others who attended the event gave to their cause. They raised $310.

“We made it free to see if people would give out of their hearts,” Mussler said. “It was really encouraging as a group to see Eastern do that.”

Throughout the evening members of IJM talked about their goals as a group, and gave background about the organization to raise awareness about the thousands of young girls who are forced into prostitution.

“After I read the story about the two girls, someone walked over and donated $100,” said junior Sarah Connelly, a member of IJM.