Drexel offers $750 prize in fight song contest — and takes aim at world record
Since it was resurrected about five years ago, Drexel’s fight song has enlivened basketball games and given the University a bit more traditional glue to bind its community together.
Now, it could also win you $750.
All you need to do is film yourself, perhaps along with a group of friends, singing the fight song in the most creative way you can imagine. Then enter your video in the Drexel Student Affairs 75th Anniversary Fight Song Contest by June 1.
Richard Kopp, Drexel’s director of student leadership development and traditions, came up with the contest with assistance from the Drexel Homecoming Committee as a way to mark the anniversary and encourage a little extra Drexel spirit among students, alumni, faculty and staff. But the contest alone wasn’t quite enough, so he decided to add something else into the mix: a world-record attempt.
The attempt will take place at a celebration in June that will mark the end of the contest and of the fight song’s anniversary year. It may possibly involve bubble wrap. (UPDATE: It will actually involve foam fingers.) But more on that later.
First: How you can win $750. That’s the amount — in keeping with the 75th anniversary theme — that will be given to the first-place winner in each of three categories: recognized Drexel student organizations; individual students or non-recognized groups; and alumni, faculty or professional staff.
To win, you’ll have to create a fight song music video, 2 minutes or shorter, deemed the most creative and entertaining by a judging panel. You can use an instrumental accompaniment, sing it a capella, use animation or do anything else you like (with a few exceptions; rules are listed on the Student Affairs webpage).
“We’re asking them to be as creative as possible,” Kopp said. He’s hoping to attract entries from interesting places — perhaps from alumni in far-flung locales or students studying or on co-op abroad.
If you don’t know the song, now is a great time to learn. Lyrics, music and sample videos are provided on the contest website.
The conclusion to the contest, though, will take place on Drexel’s campus. At a celebration set for 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 5, Kopp is hoping to gather a crowd on the Race Streen lawn (between 33rd and 34th streets) to set a new Guinness World Record.
His original hope was to set a record for the most people singing a school fight song. But Guinness, he said, registers records related to only two types of songs: national anthems and “Happy Birthday.” So, the record attempt will go down a different path — possibly for the most people singing a song while also popping bubble wrap.
“It’s an interesting process,” Kopp said of the hunt for a record to set.
(UPDATE: The category of the record attempt has now been confirmed: "most people waving foam fingers simultaneously." All participants will receive a Drexel foam finger, as well as a commemorative T-shirt.)
If all goes well, a Guinness representative will be on hand to judge the record attempt, so participants will know immediately whether they’ve gone down in history.
“It’s to celebrate pride, and to get people excited about participating in something together,” Kopp said.
More details on how to enter the video contest are available on the Student Affairs webpage. The record-setting event on June 5 is sponsored by Drexel's Good Idea Fund.