‘It’s always a happy Friday’

You hear them at first. Maybe it’s Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” or Kesha’s “TiK ToK.” Then you see them: a group of up to 10 students in colorful Morphsuits dancing around campus.

During Friday’s passing periods as early as 9:20 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., this group known as the Purdue Morph Dudes, dance to pop songs during a 10-minute route through the Memorial Mall. To protect their anonymity, for this article they will be referred to as the color or description of their Morphsuit.

“We like to dance around campus (to) try and lift everyone’s spirits,” Purple said, wearing a matching cowboy hat and velvet and cheetah-print suit over his Morphsuit.

Purple, a sophomore, joined the group last year after seeing them around campus.

“I loved seeing it, they always made me smile,” he said.

He was introduced to one of the Morph Dudes through a mutual friend, then eventually bought his own suit and joined them on their route.

“I just try to make it as good a time for everyone as I can. Make sure everyone smiles,” Purple said.

After saying this, the boisterous crowd of Morph Dudes around him, chatting amongst each other on the lawn near the Engineering Fountain, broke into applause and cheered.

Brown said the Purdue Morph Dudes started back in 2016 by one man wearing an orange Morphsuit, who was inspired by a group wearing Power Rangers costumes.

“He donned a suit and just started dancing around campus just for fun. Then he brought his friends around and we joined one by one,” Brown said.

Pink, a senior, said she has been with the group the longest, having joined a month into her freshman year.

“I was just sitting on the Engineering Fountain and I had only heard of the Morph Dudes,” she said. “But one random morning I was sitting there and they started dancing by, and I yelled at them ‘How do I join?’ They were like, ‘follow us!’ So I did.”

She said she wore a mask, a hoodie and sunglasses on the route before she got her suit.

During this interview, Aydian Brown, a junior in physics and astronomy, came up to the group and asked for a photo. After taking a photo with him, the Morph Dudes started their last route of the day.

“Anytime I actually run into them or see them, it’s the highlight of my day,” Brown said, beaming with excitement. “Everybody loves them.”

Brown, with a tan T-shirt and simple black shorts over his Morphsuit, also said the group spends a lot of time together outside of the Morph Dudes, with “homey breakfasts” and “family dinners.”

The Morph Dudes frequently broke into cheers and joked with each other, as a fun and quirky group of friends who take time out of their day to bring smiles to people’s faces on Purdue’s campus.

After they returned from their route, another student asked for a photo with them. This time it was Hugh Kennedy, a freshman in the Water Polo Club.

“They’re awesome,” Kennedy, a business major, said after getting the video of him dancing with them as part of a challenge for freshmen on the team.

The Morph Dudes are made up of mostly upperclassmen, with just two underclassmen, but Pink said they are still trying to keep the tradition going even after they graduate.

Brown emphasizes their group’s goal is to “spread joy around the Purdue campus.”

“It’s always a happy Friday,” Dark Green said.