Every Wednesday, lyrics like these can be heard in the corridors of Stegenga Hall:
“Crush Free Wednesday is here again. Who needs boys when you’ve got friends? We’re all single. It’s okay. We’ll be there to catch the bouquet!”
Sophomore Alyssa Currier and junior Megan Rustad have been serenading Steggy residents since spring break of last year. That was when they started a weekly tradition called Crush Free Wednesdays, where they celebrate being contentedly single.
“We make a song on Megan’s banjo and my guitar,” Currier said. “Then we go from wing to wing singing to people who don’t have crushes.”
The duet makes every effort to keep their serenades fresh and original.
“[Each week we have] new lyrics and chords,” Rustad said. “We ask people, ‘Are you crush free?’ If they have a crush or a boyfriend, they aren’t allowed to hear the song and have to plug their ears.”
The residents of Steggy have had many different reactions to the Currier’s and Rustad’s Crush Free Wednesday performances.
“People never seem to see what ‘crush free’ means since ‘crush’ is kind of a middle school word,” Rustad said. “A lot of the time, they think [our song] is pretty entertaining though. We’ve had people say that it’s been the highlight of their day.”
“We’ve also had girls say they’ll break up with their boyfriends just so they can hear our song,” Currier said.
A popular Northwestern stereotype holds that men on campus are friends with girls from Hospers, date girls from Steggy and marry girls from Fern. Currier and Rustad started Crush Free Wednesday as an attempt to break the stereotype.
Crush Free Wednesdays also serve as an inspiration for all those on campus who are currently crush free.
“On campus there’s such an atmosphere of dating and there’s lots of emphasis on relationships,” Currier said. “We want to celebrate people who aren’t in that stage of their life at this point.”
Rustad has some advice for those who are without a crush.
“Just enjoy your time as a single person because who knows how long it’s going to last?” Rustad said.
Currier and Rustad have high hopes that Crush Free Wednesday will move beyond the confines of Steggy. One day, Currier and Rustad aspire to make a debut in the Hub.
“We hope to improve every week,” Rustad said.
The two are currently taking instrument lessons and have even created a band name. They call themselves “Megford & Lyss.”
For now, they’ve chosen to confine their performances to Steggy, but both girls felt that their message was one they needed to continue to share.
“Be happy either way,” Currier said. “Girls get so excited about someone having a boyfriend, but it’s fun to be excited about being single too.”
