It’s that time of year again when newly initiated sorority and fraternity pledges have their annual LipSync competition. This year it was held in Jarman Auditorium on Wednesday, March 19. LipSync is a competition that is held every fall and spring semester where the newly initiated brothers and sisters perform different songs with dance moves that correlate with the songs. Freshman and newly initiated member of Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) fraternity for women, Jenny Bayer loved the idea of LipSync with her new sisters and couldn’t wait until the day of the show. “It seemed really fun to me, and I don’t mind making a fool out of myself,” said Bayer. “I figured it would be a really fun thing to do since I just got into Zeta. It kind of helped show off the sorority that I love so much.” Although it was so much fun, it was an extreme commitment, considering that this is ZTA’s first time doing LipSync since their recharter. “We practiced every night for two hours a day, and then the day before we practiced 7-midnight,” said Bayer.
Freshman and newly initiated brother of Theta Chi Drew Schmidtknect was also excited about LipSync, stating, “It sounded like fun from what I had heard about it from my brothers. I took three years of drama back in middle school and remembered how being up on stage was a thrill rush, so I thought I’d try it.” He, along with Bayer, mentioned that the performances were secrets. Bayer said “We had to make sure it was kept a secret by everyone, but sometimes it was hard to keep because people would be talking about it and wanted to know.” To which Schmidtknect added, “Everyone was always asking me why I needed a Hawaiian shirt or short khaki shorts. People didn’t really know until the last day when I was walking around in my outfit.” The final result of both ZTA and Theta Chi were spectacular. ZTA won best performance overall with Theta Chi coming in second.
From Bayer’s perspective, the show was crazy. “It didn’t even hit me until we were there,” said Bayer. “It was exciting because we were there and met up at 5:30 to do each other’s hair and make-up. Being onstage for the first time before anyone had really gotten there made me nervous, it felt like my heart was going to fall out of my chest.” For Schmidtknect, it was more relaxed. “My pledge brother Stephan always gets really pumped up, saying fun things and the rest of us got really hype. It changed from nervousness to excitement.” Despite their nerves, and the fact that the group had never participated in LipSync before, Zeta Tau Alpha came in first place. Bayer’s favorite part of Zeta Tau Alpha’s performance was the aftermath. She stated, “The whole thing just made me feel pretty important, being up there having not only my sisters, but friends in other organizations cheering me. It was really cool to represent Zeta and show that all of the hard work had paid off.”
Schmidtknect’s favorite part of the night was also the aftermath. “We were so pumped afterwards. Usually I would make a mistake during practice, but in the final performance I did well. We all did great.” Overall, both performances blew the crowd out of the water.
**Additional reporting by Features Editor Kayla Baldino
