A hopeful student scoured for Samford Step Sing tickets for hours, searching endlessly for someone who may have cancelled their ticket. As sometimes happens, that student waited until the last minute to snag tickets to the holy grail of Samford entertainment.
The student stood by thousands of students piling into the Wright Center to experience all three hours of pure Samford heaven.
For people who are not comfortable going on stage there is a lot that those outsiders are missing out on. Cool costumes, secret inside-jokes and a killer dance break are just some of the never-ending events that go into this huge celebration. In fact, Samford has participated in Step Sing since 1951, which back then was called “Singspiration.”
Enter Tate Reinhardt. A dedicated Chi Omega who absolutely loves anything pertaining to Step Sing and genuinely puts a lot of hard work into it.
According to Reinhardt, the huge performance is more than just a gathering of fraternities and sororities: it’s a chance for people to come together and make lifelong memories.
“My favorite memory of Step Sing is getting to do it with my best friends,” Reinhardt said. “Freshmen year, I got to do it with my best friend and roommate, somehow never getting tired of each other. We would spend some nights practicing the dance in our dorm room and laughing through every wrong move.”
While Step Sing undoubtedly reinforces community, it may be considered separating for those who are not in the show.
The “Independent Ladies” group is targeted towards girls who are not in a sorority but still want to be in the show. On the other hand, some students desperately want to be in on the action but feel as if these spaces are not created.
Eryn Wells is a current graduate student from Jacksonville State University, where events like Step Sing are virtually unheard of. Wells has expressed that if she was in fact an undergraduate student at Samford, she would definitely try to get involved with the show. However, she sometimes gets the notion that it is “geared towards specific groups on campus.”
“I have sort of mixed feelings about Step Sing in the sense of it being inclusive to only people wanting to be on stage,” Wells said. “I do think I would’ve really liked to be included in this to gain a better sense of involvement on campus.”
Overall, there’s no doubt that Step Sing captures the fascination of many. Although some students are not as interested as others, it boils down to every Samford student having the thought of participating in Step Sing cross their mind.
Staff Writer
