On December 12, 2011, two students at Evanston Township High School in Illinois put together an expert-level charity fundraiser for a local community arts center. Boocoo Cultural Center and Cafe—which was renamed the Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center in 2015—was located down the street from the high school. It served as an important creative meeting place for Evanston youth, but it was struggling financially around that time. High school seniors Charlotte Runzel and Jesse Chatz took it upon themselves to help.

So, they turned to good old-fashioned torture. For a good cause, of course. At this time, Bieber Fever was in full swing after the release of “Baby” in January 2010. In November 2011, Bieber released his Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe, and his grip on pop culture remained firm. Runzel and Chatz, like many young people over the age of 14, recognized the power Bieber had on the collective consciousness. With charity in their hearts, they weaponized “Baby” for the sake of their community.

They convinced administrators to allow them to incessantly blast their schoolmates with the single through the intercom between classes. The song flooded the hallways repeatedly throughout the day, and would continue until morale improved they reached their donation goal. Runzel and Chatz estimated it would take a week of Bieber-boarding their classmates to meet the $1000 goal.

High School Seniors Engaged In Guantanamo Bay-Level Torture Tactics All in the Name of Community Fundraising

The “Stop The Bieber” campaign began on a Monday. Students were so desperate to end the sonic torture that the goal was met by Wednesday. Runzel and Chatz managed to squeeze $1,000 out of a bunch of high schoolers in two days. Here’s hoping they went into marketing or nonprofit fundraising after graduation, not politics or the FBI. Skills like that can so easily be used for evil, after all.

“As student council, we decided that would be the most annoying without being over the top,” Chatz told the local Evanston newspaper at the time. “I could pick out more annoying songs, but I think that’s right at the limit of annoying and not too annoying.”

Truly, choosing Justin Bieber’s recent Top 10 hit was a stroke of genius. The global frenzy around Bieber, plus the relevance of the single, plus its inherent annoyance for high schoolers trying to assert some individuality through railing against the mainstream, equals generous wallets if it means peace and quiet in the school hallways. I’d give up my precious lunch money, too, if I had to listen to Justin Bieber on repeat all day.

The administrator at the Boocoo Center said everyone was “incredibly moved” by the gesture, ABC News reported at the time. To show appreciation, the center dedicated free exhibition space for student artists from the high school.

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