This past week featured arguably the most anticipated day of the year at LMU. Nope, not Valentine’s Day — it was the The Lip Sync Battle put on by LMU Sorority and Fraternity Life, LMU Dance Marathon, and the B+ Foundation.
Every year, campus sororities and fraternities choreograph acts for weeks leading up to the event, which is why students may have lately seen groups of people practicing dance moves near Sunken Gardens. The performances are meant to be humorous, but the preparation is no joke; groups use props and dress up as celebrities; this year featured a parody of Pitbull and Justin Beiber. Dance majors in each chapter are enlisted to create and teach the choreography, and many more hours are devoted to fundraising for the B+ Foundation — it’s “Be positive,” not “Be plus” — a nonprofit that aids families of children with cancer.
“It’s my second year doing Lip Sync, and I could not be prouder to be a part of the Greek Life system than I am right now,” said Emma Taylor, senior Alpha Phi member. “Being able to come together and create something so fun and entertaining for such an important, pressing cause is a privilege that I love and makes me so happy.”
The Battle took place on the new Drollinger Family Stage and ran from about 7-9pm. Around 100 families attended, and despite the cold, people stayed longer to enjoy fun music and food trucks that were present at the event as well.
Joe McDonough, co-founder of the B+ Foundation, joined LMU students on stage to explain that the event was inspired by McDonough’s son, Andrew, who died from leukemia when he was just 14. The McDonoughs established the foundation in his memory.
The theme of this year’s battle was “Dancing throughout the Decades”, which could be seen through songs such as “Wagon Wheel”, done by Lambda Chi Alpha and “International Love,” performed by Alpha Phi.
Several fraternities and sororities won a host of awards, including Sigma Chi, which raised the most money at $28,000. The winners for best performance were Alpha Chi Omega and Delta Sigma Phi.
Parents on campus for Family Weekend were overjoyed as well.
“It was so fun to see my son and all his peers perform for such a truly incredible cause,” said Liza Scaff, parent of Aidan Scaff, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
The event raised about $60,000 on the night of the event alone. The week prior, sororities and fraternities did fundraising on the side (primarily through social media), which added another $36,000 to the total. SFL students raised around $100,000 for the B+ Foundation when all was said and done.
“The energy of the event was contagious and made me proud to become a future Lion,” said Enzo Fiore, incoming freshman.
