Let the Madness Begin!

You know the person walking down the isle is headed straight for your section and instant panic sets in. You’re next. Finally all of the months of hard work, practice two to three maybe even four times a week, all for the next two minutes and twenty-one seconds of Donna Summers and Pitbull. The flashlight waves over your group and everyone takes off. Everything that happens next is a blur; a blur of tricky lifts, formation changes, and sparkly jackets.

The 36^th annual Chi Omega’s March Madness dance competition took place on March 24^th at 7:30pm. Every sorority and fraternity participated in March Madness not only to get their chance on stage, but to raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation.  The Make A Wish Foundation grants the wished of children who have terminal medical conditions. Some of the wishes include traveling, meeting famous people, or simply helping them do something they would have never had the chance to do on their own. When my cousin was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 12 he had to spend a lot of his time in the hospital and he was slowly falling behind on his schoolwork. The Make A Wish Foundation stepped up and bought him a computer so he could keep up with his homework and continue with his passion of writing stories. The guest of honor for the night was a 16 year old from the Bloomington-Normal area that recently received the wish of a lifetime. She was able to spend a week full of surprise and opportunity at the Winter Olympics. Her whole family stood on stage and thanked Chi Omega and the Make A Wish Foundation for giving them the chance to forget about the illness for a week.

This year Chi Omega picked the theme Opposites Attract, which would guide the sororities and fraternities in their music choice. The evening kicked off with an exhibition act by none other than the women of Chi Omega. There were many other exhibition acts including the Acafellaz and ISU Competitive Dance. Throughout the night six fraternities and nine sororities battled it out onstage for the first place title. After an intense competition the last sorority preformed their dance and everyone held their breath for the results. But before the results were announced we were all reminded that no matter our letters we are all still Greek. The All Greek Dance included a couple members from each house that participated. It was good to be reminded of the common bond between chapters. Finally the results were announced. Taking first place for the fraternities was also the winner of the best representation of the theme; Sigma Phi Epsilon. They danced to a mix of Luke Bryan and Nelly.  Gamma Phi Beta won first place for the sororities with a fantastic dance to the mix of the songs Barbie Girl and Space Jam. The whole night was a huge success and a great reminder of the importance of giving back.