Groups prepare for campus-wide annual event

Ben McGrath/The News

It’s all anyone on campus can seem to talk about. All Campus Sing is just next week and everyone involved is doing his or her best to prepare for the event.

All Campus Sing is a tradition that has been at Murray State for the past 54 years.

Different organizations on campus compete against one another in song and dance on the steps of Lovett Auditorium.

“There’s a winner in each category,” said Madeline Hart, chair coordinator for the event and junior from Lexington, Ky. “There’s first, second and third in independent, residential, sorority and fraternity.”

Planning for the event started as far back as last semester.

“We start fall semester by getting info meetings together to just let the groups know what the rules are, what they need to do, what deadlines are and then we just keep up with all of the organizations that want to compete and keep them up to date with everything they need to do: application deadline, tech sheet deadline,” Hart said.

They’ve also received some help from different professors and organizations on campus.

“We work with Student Affairs and with Dr. Robertson, and he really helps us along the way with buying trophies and plaques and making certificates and checks and everything like that,” she said. “Then we work with the Alumni Association because they donate most of the prize money then Student Affairs covers the rest.”

Hart has had help from Amanda Benson, co-chair coordinator of the event, and sophomore from Brookport, Ill., with the event, making sure everything is ready to go for the big day.

“Individually I’ve been helping (Madeline) with All Campus Sing just preparing the same way she does,” Benson said. “She has pretty much just mentored me and I’ve been following her every step to make sure I can do it right next year. We have song session, which was once, but now it has been moved to twice a week. We go over our songs and practice our choreography.”

The day of All Campus Sing will be filled with different events, day.

“We get there really early; I think I get there at 9:30 in the morning,” Hart said. “Sound checks go all day. This year we’re having preshow music at 4, which is two acapella groups, the Suspensions and the Muses. Then we start with the National Anthem and the fight song by the football team and SAI sings our chorale. Then we just jump right into the competition. Also, the SGA elections and Dunkers Challenge results will be announced.”

When the time comes for the competition, there will be three judges determining the first, second and third place winners in each category.

“We have three judges who have a score sheet and they score each category like musicality, choreography and overall aesthetics, stuff like that, and they score each one and we have a tallier who adds up the score,” Hart said. “If someone ties, the judges will deliberate if they still think it’s a tie then we go to the spirit award which is the instrument drive to get bonus points for donating instruments and money to our philanthropy and if they have that, that will break a tie.”

All Campus Sing isn’t just all fun and games for students and others involved. It also goes to a great cause. All teams entering the event paid a $50 participation fee. Those proceeds benefit People to People.

“It’s our philanthropy that donates instruments and money and music to children or people who otherwise can’t afford,” Hart said.

The competition, which takes place Wednesday, will be streaming over the Internet and can be seen at murraystate.edu/acs.

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