Boston College Shakes It Off, Taylor Swift Approves
When a couple of Boston College students started work on a video last month, they had one mission: Ramp up the buzz around Espresso Your Faith Week, which examines the way BC students incorporate religion into their day-to-day lives. But they also hoped that Taylor Swift would notice the clip, since her hit “Shake It Off’’ served as its soundtrack.
Last night, Swift recognized the hard work put in by John Campbell and John Walsh and took to Twitter to show her appreciation.
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Walsh, a sophomore, and Campbell, a senior, are both involved with the campus group Church in the 21st Century (C21). The group, created in 2002 in the wake of the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, helps brainstorm ways “to facilitate or be a catalyst for conversation’’ around students’ faiths, according to associate director Karen Kiefer.
Espresso Your Faith grew out of Agape Latte, a series of student and faculty talks that focuses on the intersection of life and faith. (Agape in a biblical sense means selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love.) In September, Kiefer and C21 board member Walsh decided they’d like to spread the word about Espresso with a video and enlisted Campbell, the group’s video editor.
Earlier this year, Boston College’s Office Of News and Public Affairs put together a video set to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,’’ and the clip, which featured more than 100 Boston College community members dancing around campus, became a bit of a sensation.
The “Shake It Off’’ video has a similar concept; the song, which appears on Swift’s upcoming album “1989,’’ was selected because of its positive message, which C21 conceptually extended to finding comfort in faith. Walsh and Campbell kicked up the concept a notch, too, shooting more than 1,000 members of the Boston College community — students, faculty, dining service workers, janitors, and facilities employees — as they shook it off around campus and in rhythm to the uptempo tune. The video was posted to YouTube on Sept. 24, and it aired as part of the halftime program for BC’s Sept. 27 football game against Colorado State.
Campbell had given up on Swift getting wind of the video before she tweeted about it.
“When I first found out, I was completely stunned,’’ he said. “I had said the day before that our video had run its course at BC, and the next day she tweeted the video and it started all over again.’’
Although they’re proud of their work, Walsh wants to make sure folks know that the video isn’t just about him and Campbell.
“The reason I’m most happy she shared it is because it’ll help extend the reach of [Agape Latte],’’ Walsh said. “I hope it draws people to BC. I love this place.’’
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