By Matt Kyle | Staff Writer, Video by Kaitlin Sides | Broadcast Reporter
All-University Sing is back after being canceled last year due to COVID-19. The longtime Baylor tradition is set to be held over two weekends from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26 at Waco Hall.
Orange County, Calif., junior and Alpha Chi Omega president Jenna Kung said Sing brings the performers and audience together. She said she was devastated about losing out on the tradition last year.
“Sing was something that I was really looking forward to,” Kung said. “I just fell in love with it. I wrote about it in my ‘Why Baylor’ essay when I first applied to Baylor. I thought it was the coolest thing having 200 people on stage singing and dancing. I love that stuff.”
Matt Burchett, senior director of student activities, said the decision to cancel Sing last year was incredibly difficult. He said Baylor wanted to try and find a way to make Sing work with COVID-19 restrictions but ultimately felt Sing wouldn’t be the same without an audience.
Burchett said Sing is one of many traditions that brings the community together and links past and present Baylor Bears.
“I love this buzz of the audience in between acts as people turn and chat with one another and reconnect, or discuss what they just saw, or go out and see friends who just performed,” Burchett said. “There’s this real beautiful community that surrounds these traditions and these experiences, both for undergraduates and for alumni and for families. We missed these opportunities, much like we missed so many of those moments during the pandemic.”
Colorado Springs, Colo., senior and Kappa Alpha Theta costumes chair Sarah Miller said via email she is excited for Sing to return. She said she is “honored” to lead the younger members of her sorority in the long-standing Baylor tradition.
“It is hard to describe the excitement and anticipation surrounding Sing this year,” Miller said. “The Baylor community missed out on the recurring spirit and buzz of campus during Sing season. Our chapter got a glimpse into the Sing mentality during Pigskin this year, but the competition of Sing adds a whole other element of motivation for our girls.”
Burchett said the spirit of Sing has remained the same throughout the years, but the level of creativity and expression has gotten better and will only continue to grow.
“I think what makes Baylor traditions so meaningful is that 20 years ago, now and 20 years from today, there is this continuity of experience that allows it to feel familiar even as it begins to evolve and change,” Burchett said. “These traditions continue to get better. You look at a video from Sing in 2000 whenever I was around versus Sing today — the improvement is dramatic. But there’s enough familiarity there where it still feels like we’re a part of the same thing, which I think is what draws us all back to want to be a part of it.”
