Homecoming Week Day 1: Lip Sync Battle and The Riddle Scandal

If you were too worried about that Political Theory essay due next Friday or the Linear Algebra test you bombed to participate in the festivities of homecoming week, The Acronym has you covered. Here are some of the highlights of the first day of homecoming week.

The Riddle Scandal

Homecoming week is a competition between sophomores, juniors, and seniors to win the title of best class for the next few weeks. Riddle, a staple event for homecoming week and Clash of the Halls, was the first opportunity to earn points. In riddle, students must decipher several YouTube videos, QR codes, and obscure messages to reach a final solution they send to a CAB member. At 8 am, The Campus Activity Board (CAB) posted a NASCAR video to Facebook, beginning the race (pun intended) between the classes. However, the race was narrowed to a competition between the sophomores and juniors after the senior class was disqualified for misconduct. While full details remain undisclosed as of this writing, it is alleged that a senior distributed images of riddle solutions to a hall group chat. When CAB found out, the senior class was immediately disqualified.

The winners of the riddle are yet to be announced.

Lip Sync Battle

The lip sync battle was the night event for Monday. The three classes were given an hour and a half to choreograph and perform an iconic song to earn points for their class in a fierce competition between the sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

The juniors started the night strong with an explosive dance to Bruno Mars’ “24k Magic.” Using flashlights and fans as props, the juniors glistened on stage in proper Barbie fashion. The juniors with fans carried themselves with the conviction of an A-list celebrity, while the ones with phones acted as eager paparazzi trying to photograph their targets’ best angle. Violently throwing their phones off stage, the juniors formed a line and busted out their grooviest moves to “24k Magic.” The juniors took an interesting approach to the lip sync battle, using the verses as a medium to convey interactions between one another. However, where the juniors shined the most is how no one person outshone the rest of the group. Even with a back handspring into a back flip that earned the applause of the entire gymnasium,  each junior had a chance to dance individually, using the chorus to showcase their talents. Elements of contemporary modern dance and the fluidity of classical dance created a spectacle that was definitely a highlight of the night.

The seniors were up next.  The spirit of Britney Spears possessed the senior class as they gave a slightly subdued performance of Britney Spears’s “Oops!… I Did It Again.” The seniors started their dance with sharp movements in sync with the loud bass. During the first verse, a stunt carried off by students from the 1505 and 1504 residence halls signaled the start of what was supposed to be an organized dance routine. However, what the seniors showcased could only be described as a mess — not a bad one, though. There were quite a few body rolls and kisses to the crowd and the occasional hip thrust, but the senior choreography had no clear direction. While trading glances with each other, trying to follow the choreography they had worked on for the past hour, the seniors eventually let the music control their bodies. They danced how they wanted to the infamous song. The seniors ended their performance with a high-energy kick line and left the stage more confidently than they had entered.

After this performance, it seems the future for the sophomores is bright. Dancing to Rihanna’s smash-hit “Umbrella,” it was no surprise they took elements from Tom Holland’s legendary performance. Even though some of their source material was clear, there was a clear originality and authenticity to sophomores’ performance.  Yes, there were cartwheels, and yes, there were theatrics, but the emotion conveyed with each movement created an unforgettable performance. Although they had no experience with dance at IMSA, the sophomores left the stage with the swagger of veteran performers.

While the winner of the lip sync battle and the riddle are undetermined now, if the performances and spectacles that happened on Monday are any sign of what the next few days will look like, it is safe to say that this week will not be one to forget.