Members of Sigma Nu, Alpha Phi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon strike a pose during the last song the group’s skit during the Greek “Songfest” event Saturday night in the ballroom. The group won the event with their skit about middle school dance romance with dan

Credit: Ron Soltys

Many Greek groups sacrificed their Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights last week to host the annual philanthropy event Songfest.

“We are just having a fun sober time,” said Alex Neal, Sigma Nu competition chair. “We are staying in on weekends to practice dance moves and sing.”

After weeks of practicing, the Greeks packed the Student Center Ballroom Saturday night at “Rock Out Kent State,” presented by the Inter-Greek Programming Board.

Fraternity and sororities were grouped together into six teams to raise money and collaborate on a choreographed performance.

A panel of judges scored each group on a number of categories as they performed.

Richard Barnett, father of a Greek member and a guest judge, said they were judging on choreography, songs, originality, clarity and use of costumes and props.

He said he in particular was looking for fun in the performances.

The team of Alpha Phi, Sigma Nu and Sigma Alpha Epsilon was announced as the overall first-place winner with their middle school dance performance.

The girls, dressed in jean skirts and printed T-shirts, and guys, wearing outfits with an ’80s flare, sang “Boogie Shoes” and “You Shook Me All Night Long.”

After being announced the winners, Alpha Phi member Megan Prescott said, “I feel amazing. All our hard work paid off.”

Graduate student Amber Johnson, a judge for the evening, agreed.

“They were very energetic,” she said about the winning team. “It was just a very well put together show.”

All the groups spent a lot of time on their performances, holding practices lasting up to four hours.

“Everyone brought their A game,” said Nick Sherman, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, “but SAE (and team) came out on top.”

The team of Alpha Xi Delta, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Tau Omega raised the most money for the event.

The $8,823 raised from all the groups will go to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which works to prevent pediatric HIV infections through treatment and research.

IGPB Songfest Chair Simon Foxall said each individual Greek organization pays a small fee to participate and then collects donations from the community.

“They have to have the drive to try to raise money,” he said. “Anyone who goes up there can win it — it’s how much they want it.”

Raising money isn’t the only benefit Greeks gain from Songfest.

“It’s an awesome way for a big group of guys to meet a big group of girls,” said Kenny Shuman, who performed in the event. “It builds relationships, and it’s a morale booster.”

Others agree their time was well-spent.

Prescott said her favorite part of Songfest was “meeting everyone new, and of course we raised a lot of money while having fun.”

Contact Greek life reporter Jessica Lumpp and [email protected].