Nathanael Hawthorne
Jambar Contributor
What do you get when you cross music legends and Youngstown State University Greek Life members? An unforgettable night full of songs, dancing and camaraderie amongst the Greeks.
YSU’s Greek Life held their 67th Annual Greek Sing competition at Stambaugh Auditorium. Each year, the fraternities and sororities that call YSU home don costumes and outfits that coincide with the theme for the year.
This year, the theme was “Legends.” Each fraternity and sorority chose a legendary artist or band and made a short performance dedicated to the legend of their choosing using only their songs.
The night started off with a speech by the Greek Sing sponsors, Gary and Shirley Wuslich and YSU President Jim Tressel, accompanied by his wife Ellen. Before the performances started, Tressel serenaded his wife with the sweetheart song used by his fraternity.
The performances started off with the brothers of Alpha Phi Delta paying tribute to The Beastie Boys including the songs “Sabotage” and “Fight For Your Right.” Up next were the sisters of Delta Zeta with the stylings of Madonna featuring hits such as “Like a Virgin” and “Material Girl.”
Another highlight of Greek Sing is the open class segment. Open class is where individuals and small groups within Greek Life can showcase his or her talent. Nathaniel Dowell kicked off open class with his rendition of “Africa” by Toto. His performance was met with members of the audience singing along. He earned second place honors in the open class portion of the night.
The next group was an open class group comprised of a medley of sisters from different sororities. Their performance consisted of songs such as “No Scrubs” by TLC and “Respect” by the late Aretha Franklin.
After that were the brothers of Sigma Tau Gamma who paid respect to “The King” Elvis Presley. “Jailhouse Rock” and “Hound Dog” were a few of the hits they covered. Following next was the Theta Chi fraternity who brought the beach to YSU. They chose the Beach Boys as their legend and their choreography and song choice earned them first place in the fraternity competition.
The sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha finished up the first half of the night. The sorority emulated Cher, and they took second place in the sorority competition.
“I am incredibly proud with my sorority and all their hard work,” Jenna Parkany, Zeta Tau Alpha’s Greek Sing chair said about the performance. “We spent months perfecting our routine and truly bonding through Cher’s music. Their energy and excitement showed during their performance and I was very happy with the outcome.”
Following a brief intermission, the performance started with an open class featuring brothers of Theta Chi and Alpha Phi Delta doing something Adam Levine and Maroon 5 failed to do in the Super Bowl. The quartet went on a nostalgic journey to Nickelodeon and performed the classic Bubble Bowl song “Sweet Victory” by Spongebob Squarepants. The performance received a standing ovation and led to a first place win for the quartet.
The next performance landed the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon a second place trophy. They took their performance to Motown and paid tribute to “The King of Pop,” Michael Jackson. Rounding out the open class portion were some sisters of Alpha Omicron Pi whose theme was “Sugar High with AOII.”
The Alpha Xi Delta sorority was up next with a tribute to legendary rock band Queen.
“We were bouncing around ideas such as Whitney Houston, Tina Turner and Prince then someone suggested Freddie [Mercury],” McKenzie Learn, Greek Sing co-chair for Alpha Xi Delta said. “I knew we were going to do the best if we had Freddie as our legend. We were Freddie.”
Finishing the fraternity competition was the Sigma Chi fraternity who rocked out to AC/DC.
To wrap up a legendary night, the sisters of Alpha Omicron Pi paid respect to John Lennon and The Beatles. Their performance was a hit and gave them first place in the sorority part of the competition.
“I had extremely high expectations for all of the girls performing because I knew what each of them were capable of,” Dana Pagley, Greek Sing chair for Alpha Omicron Pi siad. “ I knew they could do it and after the performance I couldn’t stop smiling because of how proud I was for them going above and beyond my expectations.”
