Cheer night
Chants avoid controversy and pump up Bethel student body for homecoming.
By Rachel Gmach | Royal Report
Bethel University’s newest recruits navigated wide-eyed through the gym overflowing with the hundreds of screaming college students flaunting the colors of their dormitories, taking their places among their orange, yellow, blue and black clad brethren. It’s the first Monday of Homecoming week and the student body has come together in the BU gymnasium to represent their residence halls as they kick off the week with cheer night, a tradition to upperclassmen, but unfamiliar territory to the yet-to-be-accultured freshmen.
The night took off with a special performance by the Royal’s dance team who got jiggy to old-school hits like “Jailhouse Rock” and Elvis’s “Hound Dog” then one by one the res halls rose to perform their cheers. Off Campus started them out with a not so subtitle boasting in regards to their ‘all night long’ visitation hours, followed by North Woods and their synchronized dance to “Crank It Like a Chainsaw.” Freshmen dorms Nelson, Bodien, Getch and Edgren made sure to declare that they do not condone the incessant honking by all who drive by freshman hill and set the record straight advocating that not everyone is itching to accomplish “ring by spring.” The competition continued, featuring numerous remixes of the “Frozen” soundtrack and myriad Jay Barnes visuals. Each received a standing ovation and applause.
Whispers rolled like a wave through the crowd when the time came for the residents of Lissner to rise and perform its cheer – the one that everyone had been awaiting. It had gotten out earlier that week by way of the social networking cite “Yik Yak”, that Lissner’s cheer included a line thought to have contained racial slurs or insensitivity. Students sat on edge as the moment finally came, everyone leaning forward to listen for the contentious “Bhim” line, and then passed, totally free from any racially derogatory implications. The student body released the breath they had all been subconsciously holding; crisis averted.
The night progressed without a hitch. Heritage made sure everyone knew that they are, in fact, the “cool kids” and North Waters assured us that although they’re older, they can still groove. After deliberating for four days, judges announced Friday that North Woods would take home the title of the 2014 cheer night champions.
The freshmen stood together among a sea of shouting college students as cheer night came to an end, lost in a flurry of high-fives, laughter, and congratulations from upperclassmen. Down front one freshmen girl leaned over to another. Smiling at her she squeezed her hand, “I’m excited,” she said, “to call Bethel home.”
