By Olivia Turner | Staff Writer
Amid the thrills of the present, the roots of All-University Sing can be remembered with the students who started it all. It is the job of Dr. Elizabeth Rivera, university archivist, to encourage a deep dive into the past to combat this loss of history. Rivera said that without the archives, connection on this deep level to the first years of Sing would not be possible.
“These documents, programs, photographs and other materials provide a snapshot into student life at Baylor,” Rivera said.
With permission, students can view the archive’s files from Baylor’s Texas Collection to get a close-up look at some of the first Sing documents. This includes programs from the first Sing production, handwritten annotated sheet music and the original Sing proposal form written by Mary Wiley Mathis, the first director of Sing from its beginnings until 1981.
Buena Vista, Colo.freshman Ruthie Molitor said these photographs are necessary because they often speak louder than words.
“I’m a visual learner,” Molitor said. “When you look at a photo, it’s instantly absorbed.”
As university archivist, Rivera said it is her mission to use the archives to get people connected, whether face-to-face or face-to-photo. It is through these archival connections, she said, that present students and Sing participants can discover and relate to the joy of those involved in past Sing performances. It shows that although times change, human emotion does not.
Rivera said revisiting history requires time and patience, which is something busy students don’t always have.
“If we choose to pause and see the materials in the archive we can learn, listen and receive,” Rivera said. “The pictures and stories of the past shape us and form us, if you are willing to slow down and be present.”
Rivera said in order for generations to enjoy this same privilege, students like Molitor must work together to preserve Baylor’s history. Whether it’s photographing events, filming them or writing a story, Rivera said they will embody this present generation in the future.
“Leaders of clubs, students who perform and those who attend Sing can save and send the material culture to the archive,” Rivera said. “Without the pictures and programs from today, then future students and researchers will not be able to meet you and discover your story.”
