Students packed the Arts and Sciences auditorium to see the 79th annual Homecoming Sing and musical renditions performed by some of the many student groups on campus this Wednesday.
Homecoming Sing, put on by the university’s oldest RSO Iron Skull, is the oldest homecoming event on campus, aside from the big game itself. It consists of a night of musical odes to the state and the university.
Beginning in 1935, the original reasons for the creation of the Sing are lost to history, but as President of Iron Skull Katelynne Adams said its modern meaning is to “bring the University together, in a way that is competitive and challenges each other.” Over its 79-year history it has seen everything from orderly organized performances to drunken disasters.
This year’s theme was “We are Wyoming” and the participants parodied popular songs to reference the state. The performances ranged from those that evoked “Pitch Perfect” to choreographed dance numbers to rowdy swaying and yelling. Historically, Homecoming Sing has primarily been a Greek affair, but that is changing. This year, Iron Skull reached out to a diverse range of individuals, including sports coaches and student leaders, to act as judges for the event. This year also saw the participation of the Latter Day Saints Student Association (LDSSA), UW Cheerleaders, and the Student Nurses.
There were three different categories of performance: Women’s, Men’s, and Co-Ed, as well as an overall winner.
For Women’s, Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and its pop-music performances garnered them a win. Lamba Chi Alpha Fraternity’s “Sweet Pokes of Mine” (a rendition of “Sweet Caroline”) won them the Men’s division. The LDSSA won the Co-Ed division with a Pitch Perfect inspired rendition of “Wake Me Up.” With attention garnering stomps, lighting features and well-rehearsed choreography, Chi Omega Sorority won the event overall. This win elicited cheers and applause.
Chi Omega Sorority Member Mikaela Shaw, described the feeling of being up on stage as “super exciting.”
The winners will receive their names on the Homecoming Sing plaques.
In addition to the varied performances of the night, attendees were given a raffle ticket upon entering.
“I was pretty stoked,” said raffle-winner Clayton Dexter. “I wanted to cheer and be loud for the event to add the energy I felt to the crowd.”
The prizes for the raffle were gift baskets including T-Shirts, candy, coupons and gift certificates, all donated by local businesses in support of Homecoming.
Moving forward, Adams indicates that she would like to see greater involvement in the Sing from all areas of campus. She said that next year she would like to try to reach out to the sports teams earlier in the year to ensure their involvement.
