By Mallory Sherwood, Managing Editor

Face the Facts

I’ve never entertained the idea of what it might have been like to be a freshman during the 1920s, ’50s or ’80s but this year’s freshman class enlightened me as well as hundreds of others this weekend with its production of Freshmen Follies.

For those who didn’t attend or haven’t heard of Follies before, it is a collection of short choreographed acts that groups of freshmen perform while parodying popular songs with their own lyrics based on a theme. In other words you mix hundreds of giggly, overly dramatic freshmen with a beat, someone to show them how to move to it, and add talent.

I arrived half an hour early with the rest of the parents from out of town and watched my younger brother enjoy himself on stage with the Mabee 2nd West act, dressed in someone’s leopard print dress. Picture a nearly six-foot kid with jeans rolled up to his knees, frolicking on stage with spray painted trashcans while wearing a necklace made of marshmallows. I’ve never been more proud.

This year’s theme was “The Mission,” which included a video created by seven students on a treasure hunt across campus to discover their mission. They scampered across campus and found clues that led them buildings they had to know trivia about, such as when it was built, which then inspired the overused phrase: “I wonder what it would have been like to be a freshmen in the ’40s” and so on. A group would then appear on stage to sing to the audience with familiar songs and catchy lyrics, illustrating their version of what it must have been like.

Residence hall acts included how girls might have felt when the men on campus left for both World War II and Vietnam and how the ’20s affected campus with the flappers versus the “good girls.” Others provided laughter with the usual lyrics about rings by spring, food at the Bean and curfew. The women’s groups sounded good even when they mixed shouting and singing. The men were pretty hilarious as well.

Lacking the women’s precision, the men’s groups performed wearing humorous costumes.

Many of the men simply jumped around the stage beating on trashcans, stomping their feet and attempting to dance from the era they were depicting and had the time of their lives trying.

The evening was also well crafted with soloists and small groups performing songs such as “White Flag” by Dido, “There’s More to Me Than You” by Jessica Andrews and “I’ve Got Love” by Acappella.

The show ended with the seven students from the video arriving on stage to find their final clue-Matthew 28: 18-20, which enlightened them of their mission: to find their purpose at the university while they are here.

I say all of this to make this point: whether you appreciate the freshman class or not, it is talented and has a lot to offer the university during its four years here.

Remember that not long ago, you too, stayed up all night for no reason, protested curfew, giggled incessantly and stalked the women’s residence halls; you too were just looking for your purpose.