The Tab meets: The Cookie Monster

He’s UEA’s very own besuited, baked goods loving behemoth. His mysterious presence in the Hive or Shop inspires whoops of surprise and delight. A photo of him “spotted” chillaxing in the UEA Library last week garnered well over 400 ‘likes’ on Facebook.

There are rumours of a connection to the UEA’s satellite campus located in Sesame Street, NY, and of friends in high places – including luminaries such as Elmo, Big Bird and regular Sesame Street guest-star Michelle Obama. But just who is the campus cookie monster? And why is he really doing this?

The familiar face of Cookie Monster, the beloved children’s TV character and famed healthy-eating nemesis, cuts a strange sight in the middle of the Hive on a Tuesday afternoon. Heads swivel and students laugh, as the blue Sesame Street denizen – a.k.a, first-year Chemistry student, Joshua M.Y. Hall – awkwardly sits down in a now comically-undersized looking chair. It’s his second week of wearing the costume, but the man behind the UEA campus’s now-famous Cookie Monster suit isn’t finished yet.

In answer to many a curious UEA student, the kooky costume is actually a charity stunt, for Josh’s favourite charity, the Epilepsy Society. He’s fundraising as a member of the UEA RAG soc, and he’s managed to raise over £700 so far.

In a Tab exclusive, and on an exciting note for any students who’d like to prolong Josh’s suffering (we mean, er, help for charity) he also says that if he manages to raise over £75 this week, he’ll wear the costume for a full third week running – and if he raises even more money after that, he’d be willing to run the campaign for as many weeks as he can, even if it means graduating still dressed as the Cookie Monster. We’ll hold you to it, Josh!

It’s an impressive stunt – but perhaps yet more impressive is the fact that, despite Union regulations clamping down on his fundraising activities (Josh cannot carry a bucket around with him on university property, so all his donors must give online), the attention which he attracts almost everywhere he goes on campus and the stuffiness of his suit, Josh is still smiling. The Tab grabbed a few minutes out of the hectic schedule of UEA’s Cookie Monster to discuss cookies, costumes, and the real reason for the charity stunt.

So, Cookie Monster – or, as you’re more commonly known, Josh.  Why did you choose this costume? Why the Cookie Monster?

Me and a friend were talking about fundraising and my friend suggested I do something that could be continuous… like wearing a costume. Originally, I was going to dress up as Elmo. I can do a pretty good Elmo impression, I used to do it to make my friends laugh. But then another friend said that she’d donate more money if I dressed up as the Cookie Monster. So, I went with that.

The main thing I really wanted to do by dressing up as Cookie Monster was to get other people more involved in fundraising, RAG and the Epilepsy Society. I like fundraising to be really imaginative. The more extreme and imaginative the event, the more people will pay to get involved.

The costume itself actually cost me £175, which was a little embarrassing, just for a Cookie Monster costume. I had to pay for it all out of my own money, but in the end, I hope to sell it, or raffle it off and raise even more money for the Epilepsy Society that way.

Also, me love cookie. Cookie is my friend.

Why Epilepsy Research?

The Epilepsy Society is a charity that’s pretty close to my heart. My grandfather suffered from the condition, and I have a neurological condition with similar symptoms myself.

Have you done much fundraising before?

I’ve done lots of volunteering before – at Oxfam, and at an old people’s home – but this is my first proper experience of fundraising. I suppose I’m jumping straight in at the deep end a bit, here.

What’s the best reaction you’ve got around campus?

The reaction really varies. When I walk around campus, most people stare and laugh. Some want to take photos, or a have a hug. The people that who desperately try not to stare or laugh are the ones that I find funniest, though.

I’ve been wearing it in lectures so much, though, that the unusual thing is that no one in there seems to notice the difference anymore.

What’s the most difficult thing about wearing the suit?

Probably the most annoying thing about wearing the costume, is that when I’m in lectures, I have to hold the head up to be able to see the lecture slides. Otherwise it just slips down and I can’t see a thing. It also makes taking notes take a lot longer.

Also, people not recognising me. I’ve had close friends walk past and totally blank me, just because they don’t realise it’s me in the costume!

It can pretty hot inside here, too  – it’s January now, so I don’t know what it would be like in the middle of summer.

How can we donate to you?

Although I have the right kind of license and everything, due to university regulations I’m not allowed to carry a bucket for donations round with me on campus – so at the moment, anyone who wants to donate to me has to do it online through my Virgin Money page.

However, I am holding an event in the Hive on Thursday 30^th, where I’m allowed to shake a bucket at people. I’m hoping to see lots of people and raise a lot more money for Epilepsy Society then.

I’ll also be doing a street collection with the rest of RAG society in February, and I’ll be decked out in full Cookie Monster costume there as well.

I would also absolutely love for other people to suggest ideas for my next fundraising event. If people have suggested it themselves, then they’ll naturally know the best way to do it and to help make it a success. I’m open to all sorts of ideas – and I’m more than willing to wear another huge, hot, hairy costume if I have to.

To send Josh suggestions for his next fundraising project and follow his progress, visit his Facebook page, and to donate to the Epilepsy Society,  visit his Virgin Money donations page

Future RAG society events, including Valentine’s Day Dating and Where’s Wally? UEA can be found on Facebook here.