Eastern students took the stage Friday night at the Seventh Street Underground for lunchbox voodoo’s open mic night where many comedians and musicians performed.   

Lunchbox voodoo is an on-campus organization that started in 2003. Members of the comedy group host skits and stand-up performances for Eastern students as well as faculty.   

Jordan Gomez, a senior psychology major and treasurer of lunchbox voodoo, said making people in the crowd laugh is the main reason he performs.   

“I really like to make people laugh,” Gomez said. “It’s like one of the simple joys of life is having a good laugh. The first time I did it, I got people going, and I’ve been told I’m really good at telling stories.”  

Gomez also said the laid-back environment during the open mic events is comfortable for different performers.  

“It’s not structured, and there’s no right way to do stand up,” Gomez said. “Everyone does it their own way, and we have that environment of like this is just for fun.”  

Freshman theater major Trendan Campbell performed acoustic music to the crowd and said opportunities to express himself definitely brought him out of his shell.  

“I guess I’ve always been shut off in my day-to-day life,” Campbell said. “So, performing is a really good way for me to kind of open up and show sides of me that I don’t normally show people.”  

Campbell also said the support from students in the audience makes the whole event worthwhile.   

“I think it’s amazing because it’s one thing to get people here to perform, but it’s another thing to get people here and sit through the entire thing,” Campbell said. “They love coming here, and it just feels great knowing that EIU still has that level of community– that people will show up here even if they don’t know anybody that’s performing.”  

According to Campbell, while he favors music when he performs, he isn’t closing the door on comedy.   

“I’ve been trying to work myself to stand up, but it’s stressful because I guess music is like my comfort thing,” said Campbell. “So, I’d be stepping out of my comfort zone, but like all of college is stepping out of your comfort zone. But you’ll hear jokes from me at some point.”  

Senior digital media technology major and secretary of lunchbox voodoo Cassius Burks brought the comedy and said it’s nice to see the organization bringing people together.  

“Compared to all the RSOs at the school, we’re probably one of the most unknown among them, so I appreciate when people show up,” said Burks. “It’s really about getting people out there and people wanting to participate in any way that they feel like they can do it the best. So, I want this to be an open group to all varieties.”  

Lunchbox voodoo plans to continue having open mic nights consistently every month for the rest of the school year, planning to bring in more and more people every time.   

Drew Coffey can be reached at 581-2812 or at akcoffey@eiu.edu.