First-Years Give New Look at Frat Row
By Jesse Cook
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Two Syracuse first-years have taken their broadcasting talents to Frat Row through a new “man on the street” interview-centric campus Instagram account.
Though they are not affiliated with Syracuse University in any manner besides being students, Jake Geisinger and Aidan Shephard’s new Barstool-style work is gaining traction.
The gag is simple; Geinsinger and Shephard march around Frat Row with a cell phone, microphone, and intriguing get-ups. Geisinger wears a multicolor sombrero and Shephard dons a cowboy hat.
Long past midnight, the pair interviews wandering Syracuse students about various parts of everyday life and fascinating hypotheticals.
Geisinger said that he did not expect the interviews to gain a following at all. He said, “It was funny to us at first, which was kind of the reason we did, we didn’t really think it would catch on at all.”
The well-known Uber driver known around the S.U. campus as “The Candyman” has driven through the background of many of the pair’s videos, prompting them to frequently reference him. Shephard said, “He’s kind of like the only constant in all our episodes; we always see him at the most random spots and we always like to yell out his name.”
Shephard shared his favorite interview experience thus far, reminiscing about a meandering college man who dearly loves to drink Dr. Pepper.
“We found this one guy on Walnut [Ave.] and we asked him about his favorite soda and he gave us a really in depth response about how he switched to being a Dr. Pepper guy and how he was ‘tight’ with the soda and how he’s also a big fan of root beer,” said a chuckling Shephard.
Geisinger described his favorite interview, in which they asked a group of sorority girls about fighting animals. He laughingly said, “The question was ‘would you rather fight a gorilla or a bear and why?’ They watched the Jane Goodall documentary and they didn’t want to fight a gorilla because of the Jane Goodal documentary.”
The duo plans to continue their work in the fall semester when they will return to leading impromptu interviews with roaming individuals on Frat Row.