There are a lot of things I’d change about MSU if given the opportunity.
I’d construct some parking decks to rid our school of this parking problem once and for all. Concerned about the aesthetics of campus? I’d rip off the faces of all the buildings on campus and replace them with faces of a similar architectural style. What were the architects and designers thinking? Maybe they wanted to make it easier to differentiate between buildings, and therefore make it easier for us to find our classes. How considerate.
But seriously, there are some things I would change, aside from the structural or mechanical aspects of the school. There is a tradition embraced by colleges across the United States I think MSU would benefit greatly from, a fantastic and enviable tradition that needs to arrive here.
I don’t know exactly what I’d call it, nor how to put it without sounding silly: a competition of song, dance and theatrics in musical form put together entirely by the students. Before you write my suggestion off as ridiculous, many colleges hold this tradition. It has a different name everywhere, and each is slightly different depending on the college.
The University of Montevallo in Alabama has an annual College Night, dating back to 1919 and recognized as the longest running Homecoming tradition in the nation. The students split into Purple side and Gold side and hold competitions. A week prior to the actual College Night, they compete in athletic events, and then on College Night each side puts on a show. The students do everything from the script to costumes, sets and music, and it is executed completely by the students. The winning side is announced after the shows.
It is the one event of the year that Montevallo students go wild for over any other. One former student said it can be the “most thrilling, totally unique evening of your life.” One might suggest that the students get so into College Night because they have no football team to get excited about. But then again, in that respect, do we, really? Only kidding.
Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., also has a tradition similar to this. Every year they have Step Sing, in which the students get into groups and put together a musical number and perform them in an evening-long revue, also ending with the naming of the winning group. The year I attended I saw great performances of “Yellow Submarine” by a fraternity and a song from Damn Yankees by an independent group of girls. Most of the groups are fraternities and sororities, but there are a number of independent groups as well.
These are big events for each school, with students and alumni, as well as the general public, all clamoring for tickets each year. They are huge events that the entire student body gets excited about, and anyone can be involved. It’s just a great excuse for everyone to get together and have fun.
I would like to think MSU would be a prime candidate to encourage such a budding tradition. Maybe I’m a tiny minority when I say I’m envious of all the schools who host events like this, but I would love to be involved in it. Who’s with me?