The 2025-26 freshmen class continues to fuel a large turnout of ACU traditions, with greater numbers engaging in Sing Song, filling two entire freshmen class acts and enough students left over to form Sing Song’s first-ever mixed class act to include freshmen.
Courtney McGaha, director of student productions, said what has set this freshman class apart is their excitement to participate.
“There’s not just a lot of them,” McGaha said. “They also are wanting to be so involved. And that has been such a blessing for all of student engagement, but especially for student productions whose purpose it is to build community.”
Mimicking the record-setting involvement in Freshmen Follies in the fall, around 270 freshmen signed up to participate in Sing Song, so with 100 students filling one act with about 70 extra freshmen.
The remaining freshmen were combined with sophomores and juniors to create a mixed class act.
McGaha said they asked the freshmen if they would be OK combining with upper classmen to create the mixed class act.
“The ones that we picked were like, ‘Bring it on, we love that,’” McGaha said.
“The vibe from that group has been very positive, very exciting.”
A freshman participating in the mixed act, Daniel Grumm, mechanical engineering major from Fremont, California, said the sophomores in the group bring experience.
“We have two freshmen directors,” Grumm said, “and the sophomores are helpful to have people who have done Sing Song before because they know a little bit more about the proceedings.”
Getting involved in ACU traditions as a freshman presents opportunities to build community, McGaha added.
“I think it’s really easy to just kind of stay in a lane and be like, ‘OK, I’m gonna go to my class and then there’s people around me in my dorm and that’s it,’” McGaha said.
Organization, clubs and traditions introduce students to people outside of their academic department and residence hall.
“You’re meeting other people you wouldn’t meet otherwise,” McGaha said, “finding people that you wouldn’t necessarily just stumble across, and I think that makes it so much easier to build community, to build multiple communities.”
