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Students Spread Smiles on Friday Afternoons
Opal Weber ’27, Pauline Bailey ’27, Abby Stabler ’27 and Lanie Crumpton ’27 make up the Friday Afternoon Club, greeting passersby at the main entrance. Photo provided.
It was a cool, cloudy spring day, but sunbeams shone and smiles radiated warm vibes from Furman University’s main entrance where the Friday Afternoon Club held court.
These self-appointed greeters and spreaders of joy flashed peace and love signs and yelled “Happy Friday” to folks who drove by. The trolley driver rung his bell. Officer 21 honked. A man on a scooter yelled back, “Happy Friday!”
The Club is composed of four members, all sophomores and class of 2027, all best friends since their first year: Opal Weber, a biology major; Pauline Bailey, a French major; Abby Stabler, a health sciences major; and Lanie Crumpton, a biology major.
In spring 2024 they started setting up camp chairs and an inflatable sofa after lunch nearly every Friday, rain or shine, in sickness or in health. On a recent afternoon someone had written “Peace” on one side of a piece of cardboard and “LOVE” on the other side. “Something Stupid” by Frank and Nancy Sinatra and other groovy tunes played from a phone.
Weber is carrying on a family tradition. Her dad, John Weber, graduated from Furman in 2001. When he was a student he and his friends sat and ate “Pub Subs” and waved to people in the same spot where his daughter sits now with her friends.
But mostly the students do this because it’s fun.
“And we like to see people smile,” Bailey says. “Sometimes people will stop and tell us we made their day, and that makes our day.”
“That happened today. Someone like stopped their car and said ‘I love what you’re doing,’” Stabler says as an alt country song plays in the background.
“Some people ask us what we’re protesting, but it’s just peace and love,” Lanie says.
Who couldn’t use more peace and love? You know where to find it on Friday afternoons.