By Phil Byrd, Staff Writer
Tiger Tunes, Ouachita’s premiere event for social clubs and alumni alike, has come and gone with all the fanfare that has come to be associated with it over the years. Betas cheered for second place, Tri Chis did their signature move and the hosts and hostesses dazzled audiences once again for another successful event for the Ouachita Student Foundation, or OSF.
OSF is a student organization with the primary goal of helping students through recruitment, events, fundraising and philanthropy. Tiger Tunes serves as OSF’s primary fundraising event for scholarships intended to help students finish their degrees. OSF scholarships ensure that students who may face financial hardship while in college still get to walk Conebottoms Lawn in May.
Each year, the clubs compete for the title of “Tiger Tunes Winner.” This year boasted fierce competition, with all but two shows taking home at least one award. The end results saw the Men of Beta Beta take fifth place, the Women of EEE place fourth, the Women of Tri Chi place third, the Men of Eta Alpha Omega place second and the Men and Women of Campus Ministries place first.
Cason Barnett, the director of the winning show, Campus Ministries Dogs, reflected on the difficulties and accomplishments of winning with a show of predominantly freshmen. “One of the main differences is not knowing who your members are until a week from rehearsals,” Barnett said. “The entire show was made without knowing how many people we would have.”
Another major obstacle that many “freshmen shows” face is a lack of a pre-built community. While social club members know each other and are friends, freshmen are brand new on campus and need community. Barnett reflected on trying to provide that through his show. “Going into Tunes, our biggest goal was to create a community where [students] could come and forget about how stressful their school day was, and make some of their best friends along the way.”
While not every show placed, all were impressive, and some still managed to come away with awards. Kappa Chi’s Blacksmiths took home two theme and lyric awards, while Chi Mu’s Pest Control also took home a theme and lyric.
Gamma Phi’s Game Time won a costume award, and Student Life’s Arcade took home a musicality award, prompting director Matt Murray to shave his head in keeping with a promise made to the show’s participants. Murray was the recipient of this year’s Shelby Seabough Spirit of Tunes Award, given to the participant that most embodies the purpose of Tunes: students helping students.
Also featured were Chi Delta’s Founding Mothers, a play on the founding fathers of the United States filled with Hamilton references and all, and Rho Sigma’s Bones, a light-filled and visually appealing show that entertained audiences all weekend.
Although the shows dazzled, entertained and raised money, the real stars of the show were the hosts and hostesses. Nathan Price, Braden Bunger, Xander Dalton, Aaron Washburn, Graceanne Ashlock, Hadley Gilmore, Ava Weeks and Carleigh Jean Himmelsehr took the stage to introduce shows and entertain crowds in between, dazzling with songs like “For a Night Like This,” “Vienna” and a “Defying Gravity” remix.
For first-time host Xander Dalton, a sophomore, being a host has always been the plan. “Ever since freshman year the idea of being a host stuck out to me,” Dalton said. “What solidified that desire was last year’s tunes when I played guitar for one of the songs they performed.”
Second-time host Carleigh Jean Himmelsehr, a senior, emphasized the community that comes from Tunes. “Whether you’re in a freshman show, a club show or you’re a host, it seems that everyone becomes so close during the tunes season,” Himmelsehr said. “It’s also such a cool thing to see so much of campus come together for the purpose of helping other students.”
All the money raised from Tiger Tunes ticket sales goes directly to OSF scholarships. “Tunes fundraises for most if not all OSF scholarships,” Himmelsehr said. “As someone who has received one of these, it gives such a relief that I can finish my time at the school I love without stressing about finances.” While Tunes is always a community-favorite event, its real purpose is to allow students to continue to attend Ouachita.
