AU Traditions: Cheap Thrills

 BY JACEY CRAWFORD WILLIAMS ’21

 2 MIN. READ

If you’re on Anderson University’s campus and happen to hear uproarious laughter echoing from Reardon Auditorium, don’t be alarmed — that’s just the sound of students enjoying yet another Cheap Thrills performance. Created decades ago by the men’s social and service club, Dativus, the light-hearted comedy show has long been enjoyed by Ravens and has become a staple of the AU experience.

Starring members of the 50-year-old service club, Cheap Thrills is a compilation of bizarre and hilarious skits and sketches. The show is a regular campus production, occurring two times a year.

While each show introduces some new acts, the event boasts numerous recurring skits updated with new content for each performance. “Eye on Campus” is one such reapperating skit, featuring Dativus members posing as news anchors delivering satirical campus news. 

Jeff Whye ’01, a Dativus alumnus and former Cheap Thrills director, was involved with the show all four years of his AU experience. Now a pastor, Whye credits Cheap Thrills for developing his stage presence and public speaking abilities. 

“Cheap Thrills really helped me to know how to get up in front of people,” he said. 

Describing the show as the “Saturday Night Live of AU,” he explained that the event embodies the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Similar to how a funny movie brings groups together, Cheap Thrills has always brought the AU community together through the power of laughter.

“What’s one of the best things you enjoy doing with your family?” Whye asked. “Probably laughing, right? Cheap Thrills is that element, when it comes to campus, that allows us to corporately laugh together.”

Anderson University is on a mission to educate students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 60 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 20 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult and graduate programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized among top colleges for its business, computer science, cybersecurity, dance, engineering, nursing, and teacher education programs. Anderson University was established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God.