Eastern men’s swim team sophomores Patrick Wood and Ben Pitlock made a rap song for “Fund EIU.”

Neither Wood nor Pitlock, who are roommates, have any experience with making music or rapping, but the two swimmers found themselves bored Friday night and they wanted to make a rap song for fun.

With the trouble that Eastern is in without a state budget passed, they thought rapping about “Fund EIU” would be relevant and a good idea.

Wood and Pitlock go back and forth throughout the song rapping a verse.

“We were just messing around; we were just bored and in like two to three hours we just thought we’d share and some of our friends would like it,” Wood said. “But obviously a few more people saw it.”

The song has been shared extensively on social media, and can be listened to on Pitlock’s Soundcloud.

There are many people affected by what is going on with the budget, from employees being laid off to the women’s rugby team being suspended, and Wood and Pitlock are also affected because they are part of athletics.

“Fund EIU is a good thing for athletics too in the fact that with all these cuts that could possibly happen, it would be good to make sure that athletics is supportive of that movement too,” Pitlock said.

The fall semester had some people worried that Eastern may get shut down soon, which would mean students could lose scholarships they earned and would not be able to finish the degrees they came to get.

While Woof and Pitlock made the song just for fun, they said there was a little bit of hope that the song may make some sort of impact on the situation at Eastern.

After seeing rugby get suspended for the year, Wood and Pitlock do not know if another program at Eastern could possibly face the same situation.

They hope and want to make sure there is not another program to be cut or suspended.

The music playing the background of the song is the beat of “Lean on Me,” and a couple of the lyrics include “We’re just out here, tryna’ help our school, all these legislators acting like fools.”

Wood and Pitlock also take a shot at Thomas Dining Hall.

“Fund EIU is what we tryna’ preach, gotta get some money, let the teachers teach, let the students learn degrees we tryna’ earn. Four year commitment, that is what we were promised, you can’t even get any good food at Thomas.”

Pitlock said no offense was meant against Thomas, however.

“We had to come up with something that rhymed,” Pitlock said. “So we thought ‘I guess that could work,’ nothing personal against Thomas Dining.”

At the rally on Friday, more than just students, faculty and staff were there in support, but also Charleston residents.

Pitlock asked at the end of the song what would “the Chuck” be, and said, “We all bleed blue.”

Sean Hastings can be reached at 581-2812 or smhastings@eiu.edu.