ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Campus Christmas 2011
SCAB works to involve students in Christmas celebration via new committee, concert
by Holly McClellan
S
tudents travelling to Chuck’s for a late Saturday brunch November
19 were surprised to find it had snowed in the SSC.
Along with the typical wrapping paper, lights, trees and orna-
ments the Stevens Student Center sports this time of year, over 3,000
ping pong balls had sprouted overnight from the ceiling, resulting in the
effect of an indoor snowstorm.
Christmas may have still been over a month away, but the Student
Center Activities Board (SCAB) has been working tirelessly for months
to produce this year’s Campus Christmas, a program of yuletide activi-
ties to help students beat the finals blues and get into the holiday spirit.
Festivities usually include a midnight breakfast, a Christmas concert,
holiday open dorms, and lots and lots of decorations.
Senior student and SCAB member Josiah Smith began planning for
this year’s festivities before the snow even melted from last year. He
was joined in his efforts in April by senior Tia Zirkle and sophomore
Emily Sears, who along with SCAB director Brian Burns brainstormed
through the summer to make Campus Christmas better than ever.
“The first meetings were exciting because we had a lot of big ideas,”
Sears said.
“And none of the stress!” Zirkle added, saying of the early plans,
“They were visionary.”
Smith said the trio began taking those ideas out of the “Disney
World” scale and into more manageable territory as the year began. To
help with this, Smith used 3-D imaging to design the SSC’s decorations.
Bringing those plans to reality also encompassed one of SCAB’s goals
for the year: involving a greater portion of the student body than before.
As part of that, the three directors commissioned a Campus Christmas
Committee, comprised of students who expressed interest in SCAB last
year. These students helped with the planning and execution as Smith,
Zirkle and Sears had to simultaneously plan the first two ALT Nights.
“They brought a great level of energy that really helped boost our
self esteem,” Smith said.
“They’re really taking ownership of the project,” Zirkle agreed.
Another way in which SCAB is realizing this goal is in the annual
Christmas concert. Usually the university will bring in outside bands –
such as Denver and the Mile High Orchestra last year – but Smith and
Burns began talks last summer on trying something new.
“We came back here and realized we weren’t going to have a con-
cert in the traditional sense,” Smith said, “so I think we all sort of ran
with the idea of doing a student concert.”
“The vision of SCAB is trying to create community, and that’s the
purpose of everything we’re doing,” Sears said. “So when trying to come
up with an event that showcases that as well, the concert really was a
perfect fit.”
E-mail invitations were sent to the student body asking them to
show off their vocal talents, and nearly 50 students auditioned before
the committee in a process that Smith jokingly called “just like Ameri-
can Idol.” Students came from a wide variety of majors, which played in
well with SCAB’s goals for this year.
“Auditions were great because we got to hear from a lot of differ-
ent perspectives,” Smith said. “All the auditions were really good and
could have been used. I think that’s what was encouraging about it be-
cause we’ve been praying about it, and when you’re stepping into the
unknown, it’s fantastic to see the talent that the campus has.”
“A lot of unexpected people came out of the woodwork that we
didn’t even know,” Sears said. “It was neat.”
Smith said that the concert will be an ensemble piece, including
solos with the rest of the group singing backup vocals. Smith said that
there will be a good mix of music, including hymns and comedic songs.
Other than changes made to the concert, Smith said that Campus
Christmas will largely be sticking to what students know and love. Many
of the activities such as the midnight breakfast will remain intact, and
musical performances at the concert will be interspersed with stories
read by Dr. Brown, always a favorite aspect of Campus Christmas.
The three said that the success of this year’s efforts has encour-
aged them to continue engaging more of the campus. Sears said that
her favorite aspect of Campus Christmas has been “being able to draw
from so many demographics and so many people groups and trying to
incorporate as much as possible.”
Though the only snow to be seen around Cedarville can be found in
the SSC, the long-awaited event is fast approaching, and SCAB is ready
to see the fruits of its labors.
“I love the actual running of the events,” Zirkle said. “Planning is
great, too, but when it comes to D-Day, I just love being there and hav-
ing the energy of the students.”
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December 2011
