Hundreds of thousands expected to run directly into the sun
By Mercedes Deutscher, Social Media Coordinator
A local Douglas College student became famous overnight after creating an absurd Facebook event.
Inspired by events like “Naruto run on the seawall” and “Scream like Goku in front of the Olympic cauldron,” Pod Dole Brown figured it would be fun to set up a similar event. He called it “Run directly into the sun at the DSU.” It is scheduled to take place at the end of September.
“I thought no one, besides a few friends, would even see the event. It’s a funny meme. I just wanted to be involved somehow,” said Brown.
However, much to Brown’s surprise, the event became a smash hit. Overnight, the expected attendance of the event skyrocketed to 300,000 people. Over the following days, he was contacted by the CBC and several local radio stations.
Many of those planning on attending the event are Douglas students. With midterms taking place in early to mid-October, the attending students figure that running directly into the sun would be preferable to studying for an exam that they know they are likely to fail.
Other attendees include Douglas alumni, many of whom are distressed by the outrageous tuition fees of the larger universities they have transferred to. Others have given up hope after failing to find a job in their field, increasingly burdened with a growing student debt.
“Even if people did show up, they wouldn’t actually be able to run directly into the sun, right?” said Brown. “Like, that’s physically impossible.”
Yet if this event has taught Brown anything, it is that nothing is truly impossible. Looking to sponsor the event, the City of New Westminster offered to build yet another hill at Douglas. The hill, which will start near the DSU and ascend into the sky, will be 150 million kilometres long.
Brown was also contacted by the agent of the sun itself. Usually, the sun would ask a blood sacrifice to appear at the end of September, but figured the publicity alone would be profitable. Ultimately, the sun agreed to appear for free.
While initially anxious about the wild popularity of the event, Brown has come to accept it as a pleasant surprise.
“I realized that all of these people coming to ‘Run directly into the sun at the DSU’ all have something in common. Nihilism. Just unwavering nihilism. And I get it. This event is going to go by and then I’ll realize that this will be the biggest contribution I have for this world. Nothing I do after this will matter, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to feel as accomplished as I do now.”
“Run directly into the sun at the DSU” takes place at the DSU on September 31 at 1:oo p.m. Brown himself will lead the charge.
