7 Traditions All Baylor Freshmen Should Know About

Posted on March 6, 2015 by alexa_godfrey

By Maggie Malone

With the recent announcing of awards for Baylor’s annual Sing participants, another great tradition has once again come to a close. In addition to Sing, there are so many great traditions to experience here.

1. All University Sing Teams from Greek organizations compete in Broadway-style performances complete with their own themes, song choices, and costumes. Hours and hours of work are poured into each act. The one exception to mostly-Greek teams is called Sing Alliance, a group made up of any student who wants to participate in Sing. Tickets sell out fast so be sure you buy early!

2. Christmas on 5th Street Christmas at Baylor! This event happens right before finals week, and it is a good opportunity to chill with friends, sip some hot chocolate and enjoy the lights on campus. Also, there are talented choirs that perform, carriage rides, a live nativity, fantastic petting zoo and the annual tree lighting!

3. Baylor Line One of the major experiences of being a freshman at Baylor! While wearing your personalized gold jersey, you and the rest of the freshmen run through the stadium before every home football game and line up to welcome the Baylor Bears onto the field. And by this I mean that there is a mad dash of hundreds of freshmen pouring onto the field. Right afterwards, the Line is able to enjoy fantastic seats … right behind the visitors’ bench! Sadly, because I perform with the marching band, I have never gotten to experience this tradition. But how do you join this esteemed Line of glory? You attend …

4. Line Camp Yes, we have Line Camp! And while it’s not mandatory for freshmen to attend, I highly, highly recommend it. You get to learn not only about the Line, but also about the rich history of Baylor University. You get to make your first friends at Baylor while having tons of fun. Hint: They have an amazing slip and slide.

5. Dr Pepper Hour Every Tuesday in Barfield Drawing Room, Baylor serves up some delicious Dr Pepper floats! These floats are a nice cold treat, especially in the summertime when it gets really hot outside. Besides it being a great meet-up for friends, sometimes there are tables lined up featuring activities, clubs, study abroad information, and more! Bonus, you may even spot our president, Judge Ken Starr, and our mascot, Bruiser!

6. Freshman Mass Meeting This late night tradition during homecoming week is an important part of the Baylor experience. Freshmen gather together to listen to the story of the Immortal 10, some of Baylor’s finest students. I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s a great one. Afterwards, freshmen then go to help prepare what will become one of the greatest bonfires you will ever see.

7. Diadeloso Ah, spring. Season of new life, warmer weather (hopefully), and Diadeloso! Meaning “day of the bear” in Spanish, and affectionately called “Dia” by Baylor students, this day off from school is a great chance to take a break from life and just have fun. It’s a university-wide holiday, which gives students the chance to hang out, go on a day trip, or just have a good time on campus. Baylor usually brings in cool shows to entertain as well. Last year we had an exotic petting zoo, a talented magician, and, at the end of the day, NEEDTOBREATHE. Grab your Dia tank and get out into that sunshine!

I’ve only listed seven, but, as Baylor is an old university, we have plenty more traditions old and new to enjoy!

Sing Season!

Posted on February 4, 2015 by hank_dehay

By Aaron Harder

My first experience with All-University Sing was when my sister participated in it while she was at Baylor. I thought it was cool and entertaining, but certainly it would never be something I would do. I was the athlete, the guy who played sports, and thought there was no way I would perform in a musical act.

Man, I was so wrong.

Tryouts While I did participate in sports at Baylor as a track athlete, I eventually left the team because it was becoming too much of a time commitment. I spent the next year of college volunteering at different ministries and hanging out with friends; however, I felt like something was missing. I had some friends try and talk me into doing Pigskin, a smaller version of Sing, I was already committed to a few things and said no.

I then saw how much fun my friends were having being involved with Pigskin, so I decided to join Sing Alliance that next spring. While it was way out of my comfort zone at first, I really enjoyed being involved in a Baylor organization. Participating in Sing was also really unique; you just cannot get that experience anywhere else.

AllianceFriends Bottom line is: I love doing Sing because of the unique opportunity it presents and because of the friends I made during practices and performances. Sing not only gave me something to do, besides sitting on my couch, it was a ton of fun! So if you decided to come to Baylor, truly consider doing Sing at least once, you may really enjoy it!

Getting Involved!

Posted on January 23, 2015 by hank_dehay

By Aaron Harder

I was very involved at my high school where I ran cross-country, threw shot put and discus for the track team all on top of training in the off-season! I also loved to go to my high school’s FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) once a week and sporting events throughout the year. I tried to spend as much time as possible with my friends, coaches, and fellow athletes.

When I arrived at Baylor, I decided to walk-on the Track and Field team, which took most of my time and energy. After a long freshman year I stepped away from track and found myself going from being super involved, to just going to class and coming home.

I felt out of balance, and it took me two years to figure out what was missing! My junior year, I found Sing Alliance, a group of non-Greek students that compete in All-University Sing. Sing is a competition between student organizations held every spring.

After joining Sing Alliance and making new friends, I realized what I was missing the whole time was community. Since then I enjoy going to class and seeing friends all over campus.

So my recommendation to you all is to join an organization in college. Don’t just go to class and then do homework, be involved! Because believe it or not school will eventually end, and so will the opportunities it presents. Take advantage of all that is at your fingertips and engage!

SING is in the Air

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By: Torie Abbott

With the beginning of the spring semester upon us, various groups and organization SING! s all around campus have begun to prepare for one of the greatest Baylor traditions: All-University Sing. When parents and newcomers see the show for the first time they are blown away by the acts put on by Baylor students.

So much time, money, and preparation go into creating the event. Chess games, zoos, tourists, monsters and gamblers are just a few of the themes that have been performed in Sings-gone-by. One of the unique and most anticipated elements of Sing for those participating is that each group keeps their Sing act a secret. Costumes, song choice and chorography are not revealed to the student body until the first night of Sing, Club Night where all students involved in Sing come out to watch the other acts.

SING!TriDelt As a student who has participated in the program, the feeling of walking onto a packed Waco Hall stage in full make-up and costume with a group of your peers is truly incredible. To all of the 2015 Sing participants: good luck! I cannot wait to see the acts and hard work pay off. All-University Sing premieres on February 22. Students may purchase tickets with a student ID beginning January 22 and general public tickets go on sale online on January 23. I will be there…will you?

Update from New York

Posted on March 26, 2014 by alicroom

By Charlie Foster

For those of you keeping up with me, I’m currently in New York City interning for CBS. I work in their Entertainment Publicity department, and I absolutely love it. I never know what to expect, as my job almost changes every day in order to match the needs of the shows. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the set of a new show that’s currently on pilot for CBS.

As a part of the publicity department, we interviewed Jim Gaffigan (comedian) and Ashley Williams (of How I Met Your Mother), both of whom are stars of the new show. I asked the producer of the interviews to take a picture of me on the interview set. Here it is:

This is my view of the New York City skyline. I absolutely love it. It changes every day, and I always see something new. Every morning, I sit on my couch and look out at this as I have a quiet time. I love to see this crazy place that He has created, but I also know that He’s very much here. This has been an adventure of a lifetime, and I’m excited for the second half that’s coming soon.

Also, as a surprise, I flew to Waco to watch All-University Sing. My fraternity, Phi Kappa Chi, partnered with Pi Beta Phi this year. We competed with an act about Romeo and Juliet. I love Sing, and it has always been one of my favorite aspects of the university. My little didn’t know I was coming, so I surprised him after his performance. I enjoyed getting to see family and friends – they are what I miss most while I’m in New York City. Nonetheless, this opportunity is COMPLETELY worth it. I’m loving every second of it. I hope you will find something like this that you love, as well!

Sing

Posted on March 18, 2014 by alicroom

By Ashley Woo

Here at Baylor, the end of February and beginning of March can only mean two things: Spring Break is coming up, and Sing is FINALLY here. For those of you who don’t know what All-University Sing (or Sing for short) is, I am here to give you the 411 on all things Sing – and just a forewarning, it is a really really big deal.

One of the oldest traditions at Baylor, All-University Sing is one of the largest off-Broadway productions in the nation and has been performed by fraternities and sororities at Baylor since 1953. In fact, Sing celebrated its 60^th anniversary last year! Members of each fraternity and sorority elect several chairs, who are in charge of developing the organization’s act for that particular Sing season. Every year a couple organizations opt to pair up with each other, but generally, organizations decide to rely on their own strengths to create a winning act.

The big thing about Sing is the theme. Sing chairs develop their acts with their producers for more than four months, but they must keep everything a secret. In fact, chapters usually don’t find out their theme until a couple weeks before the first practice or, in some cases, DURING the first practice! Even then, Sing chairs stress the importance of keeping the themes a secret until the opening night of the show. During Sing season (early January to the end of February), each organization practices for several hours almost every day. When it gets closer to the performances, weeks are filled with dress rehearsals, audio techs, open stages and other rehearsals to make sure that you are as prepared as you can be. It is during that time that the Sing chairs really see what works in the act and what might need to be tweaked. And then…after two months of hard work and countless hours practicing to perfect every move, you get to perform six times on the stage of Waco Hall. These performances are judged, and the top eight acts are given an invitation to perform at Pigskin, which is a show during Homecoming weekend. In addition, the top three acts are given awards as well as a variety of People’s Choice Awards.

This year, my sorority’s Sing theme was Egypt, specifically titled, “Take Me Through the Pyramids.” My favorite part of the costume was definitely the wig. It was fun to see everyone with short black hair! In the end, Tri Delta was awarded with 2nd place and received a Pigskin invitation. Of course, we were all so excited that we were able to represent our chapter in such an incredible manner. However, my favorite part about Sing was definitely being able to spend time with all my best friends performing on the Waco Hall stage. Sing is such a unique and incredible tradition that only happens at Baylor. Being able to participate in such a wonderful part of Baylor’s history and has truly deepened my love for my school.

Moving to Baylor from Oregon

Posted on February 24, 2014 by alicroom

By Laura Teague

One of the questions I get a lot as an out-of-state student is, “Why did you choose Baylor when it is so far from Oregon?” This is a valid question as my hometown is a mere 2,050 miles away, and when I came to Baylor, there was a whopping total of six students from the whole state of Oregon in the class of 2015. When it came down to it, I had three main reasons why I chose Baylor.

1) Warmer weather. Oregon is beautiful, but I needed a change from the rain.

2) Perfect size campus. With about 15,000 students on campus, it’s big enough to have a lot going on but small enough to get really plugged in and feel like you are a part of campus.

3) All of the professors that I had encountered truly loved working at Baylor. To me, their passion spoke volumes because these would be the adults who would pour into my education during the next four years.

Since coming to Baylor, I have not been disappointed (except for the occasional 13 degree football game), especially by the love for Baylor by the entire faculty, staff and student body. It’s really special to attend a school where we can all be one united family. I would really challenge you as a prospective student to meet with professors if you can while you are on campus. They really are a great representation of the school and can give you great insight not only into their specific program, but the campus as a whole.

Also – Sing started on Thursday! And since I know you have all been dying of anticipation, I’ll give you a glimpse of our act. Ancient Egypt baby!

SING! SING! SING!

Posted on February 20, 2014 by alicroom

By Frances George, A Baylor Parent

This is crunch time; you are entering the final months of high school and beginning to hone in on the decision for college based on all the wonderful acceptances you are receiving! Congratulations on the myriad of choices you have for the next wonderful chapter of life.

I talk with my Baylor daughter, several times a week. Sometimes she sends me texts saying thing like, “Pray for me! I’m getting ready to take my midterm in Spanish III.” Other times, she calls breathless as she walks between classes. Occasionally, I’ll hear from her in the late afternoon, and she’ll tell me about the previous weekend’s happy events. Then there are those coveted moments when I hear, “Oh Mom, I do love it here! Thank you for sending me to this place,” accompanied by a picture of sunset on the Baylor campus as she’s taking a late afternoon run.

Lately, however, all I see are texts that say, “Pray for me! One more week before SING!” or “More rehearsals, more rehearsals…it’s going to be GREAT! Hurry down!” with a picture of her crashed on the floor of her sorority room. All of these texts, Instagrams and messages, at all hours of the day and night, have to do with SING.

Sing, a musical extravaganza (unlike anything on any campus, anywhere in the United States, maybe the world), is an all-consuming competition between student organizations (usually the Greeks) that requires tireless hours, days and weeks of preparation for a full-blown Broadway-style performance that is nationally known. Sing includes professional costumes, Hollywood choreographers, enormous sets, six nights of sold-out performances that draw parents, students and friends from around the country to witness high-level entertainment from Baylor students! Could anything be more unique, more wonderfully exciting, more BAYLOR?

The level of enthusiasm is quite contagious and even though I’ve never been I have seen clips online from last year’s winning performances. I must say, I am expecting to be highly impressed. We have tickets for the second weekend this year. Mary Scott stood in line for FIVE hours to get our seats. Our son lives in New York City, and I have seen many Broadway productions over the years, and from all I hear, these rival the best of the best in the Big Apple. The top eight acts of Sing perform again in the fall at an encore presentation during football season. It is every group’s dream to be in the top eight. From the time school starts in January until the final performance of Sing, the students’ lives revolve around the planning, rehearsals and performances. Indeed, I think the spring semester academic schedule might be planned around this singular event.

Baylor is unique in so many ways. This is just one more reason to say “YES!” to Baylor. Our daughter has jumped into to Baylor life with both feet and has been blessed in every regard. She has been given academic opportunities (Spain this summer with Baylor – more about that in another blog), chances for spiritual growth through her amazing church and Bible study community and the ability to develop deeper friendships through Sing! All of this makes me smile when I think of the many choices our daughter had for college. None could be more rewarding than this Baylor education, this Baylor life.

As the day draws near for you to make your final choice for this next chapter, I’ll risk a little ridicule and say that I think you’ll SING for joy if your student chooses Baylor. I know we do! I’ll let you know if her sorority makes it to the top eight!

Blessings to you,

Frances George

Experiencing Sing

Posted on February 14, 2014 by alicroom

By Laura Teague

As the last two weekends of February draw closer and closer, people start talking about funny things like Girl Scouts and Mad Hatters or Boxing and Museums. This is the time when everyone starts guessing the themes of each group’s act in All-University Sing. Don’t get too excited – these are all past acts from the time I’ve been here at Baylor, but soon enough, this page as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will be full of pictures of people in crazy make-up and costumes.

It’s amazing to watch an act come together in a few short weeks, due to the hard work and planning of the Sing chairs over the past year. These students work tirelessly on the choreography, song choice, costumes, backdrop and everything else in between. It’s a lot of hard work. I can’t imagine the joy the Sing chair feel after they know their group just KILLED their act on Waco Hall stage.

Every year, we all compete to see who will have the honor of performing again during Homecoming weekend at Pigskin, which is something ∆∆∆ is working very hard for this year! I hope some of y’all are planning on coming down this year to see Sing, but if not, it needs to go on your Baylor Bucket List. No matter if you’re just going to see it or performing with an organization, there really is nothing like it. We got to try on our costumes for practice in Waco Hall last night, and I hope y’all are just as impressed as I was seeing our whole chapter ready to perform!

Here is the Sing montage from last year to get you pumped – I may or may not have watched it five times already since Sing practice started.

All-University Sing

Posted on February 10, 2014 by alicroom

By Torie Abbott

This week, the ever-so-infamous Sing ticket lines began! All-University Sing has been a tradition at Baylor since 1953. Student organizations perform seven-minute, broadway-style productions in competition with one another to win both glory and a coveted spot in Pigskin Review in the fall. Being someone with a knack of sleeping in instead of standing in line, I was one of those people who decided to wait until the tickets were available online. Note to self: consider standing in line next year.

Regardless, Sing is in the air! Practices and open stages are in full swing. Groups are doing their best to keep their themes, choreography and costumes a secret. Even though it is a big time commitment, it feels so wonderful to be a part of one of Baylor’s most popular traditions.

In just a couple of weeks, thousands of Baylor students from the past, present and future, along with proud parents and loyal faculty, will feel the seats of Waco Hall as each group takes the stage. Being in Sing this year, I am so excited for everyone to see our new Delta Delta Delta act. I am, however, also excited to see each of the other acts as well.

All-University Sing is exactly that… all of Baylor University. Whether you are in an act or not, Sing holds a special place for Baylor students. Some seek redemption, some seek to continue a legacy and some seek a good time with friends. Whatever the case may be, Sing is geared up to be legendary this year. Groups are pushing things to the limits, and frankly, it is going to be a special performance.

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