Enduring tradition

At 1606 N. Fee Lane lies the Wilcox House, home of the IU Student Foundation, where the behind-the-scenes action of IU Sing takes shape.\nInside is the Steering Committee, one of the groups responsible for making sure everything is running smoothly, on schedule and on track. It's counting down the days to IU Sing, IUSF's musical extravaganza, slated to begin its two-night run tonight at 7 p.m. at the IU Auditorium. Joining acts from residence halls, off-campus housing and the greek community, the decades-old event, spawned in the days of Hoagy Carmichael, attracts more than 3,000 student participants each year. \nSeniors Kari Kull, Jamie Wensel, Nick Brown, Alicia Ott and Stacy Donner are propping themselves up on the desk in the main lobby, discussing the time and location of each practice they\'ll be observing, figuring out who's driving whom and who gets to ride shotgun.\nOnce that's sorted out, everyone hops in a car and heads to the first house.\nEntering in the back door of Gamma Phi Beta, they zig-zag through a hallway until they emerge at a giant clearing: the basement, with tables and chairs stacked on each other and pressed against the walls.\nMen and women are milling around in the middle, chattering about miscellaneous topics, the most popular being their plans for the evening. \nUpon the arrival of the Steering Committee, a woman with a slight frame strides to the center of the room and hollers for everyone to take their kazoos and assume their places. People immediately snap to attention and move to their respective locations. \nSince this is the last full week of practice, all 22 IU Sing groups have to make the most of their four- and five-day-a-week practices they've been having since the beginning of January. \n"Once it gets down to the wire, everyone gets really stressed and competitive because everyone really wants to win," songleader and producer Kari Kull said.\nIU Sing points are based 50 percent performance and 50 percent production -- counting attendance, script, rough and final draft. Absences count against teams as well. \nThat's why the straggler coming in half way through the performance attempts to slide in undetected.\nPoints are also based on IU Sing Spirit, which is why even in practice everyone must have enthusiasm and a smile at all times. \nSpirit is so important, in fact, that Kull started a practice by threatening to pick on anyone who appeared to be slacking.\nOther criteria for a good skit include dancing in crisp, straight lines, being well-choreographed, animated and in sync with each other and loud but not deafening. Committee members are constantly reminding groups that it's "IU Sing, not IU Scream."\nTolerance for armpits and close proximities appeared to be a must, as there were a lot of arms-over-the-shoulders routines.\nA sense of humor also seemed to help. Numerous giggles and grimaces came from people running into each other and throwing off their fellow dancers.\nJamie Wensel, sponsorship director, said participants don't have to have any music or dance ability to participate. What some might lack in talent they can make up for in enthusiasm.\nFor the majority of participants, this enthusiasm shows during their performances. Several participants said they have a lot of fun practicing, even though it's time-consuming and a lot of work.\n"We throw candy if they are doing well, try to make jokes and let them have some free time. But this week we will be much stricter," said sophomore Molly David, one of the song leaders for Kappa Kappa Gamma. My goal is to make sure the participants are having fun and the other song leaders and I are having fun, too.\n"After the fun, my goal is to win IU Sing"