Over the past couple of weeks, a plethora of various student groups, organizations, sororities and fraternities have been hard at work practicing and refining their performances for this year’s Step Sing, even as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic looms over them.
While the show is still happening, numerous precautions, such as check-ins, masking protocols, virus testing and social distancing, have been put in place to help ensure everyone remains safe.
But for approximately 280 students, remaining socially distanced for the upcoming event won’t be much of a challenge. These students are the ones currently enrolled in Samford’s study abroad program.
Since these students are not in the same country, let alone the same campus as the Wright Center where the event is scheduled to take place in, they will obviously not be attending the various group’s performances in person. Although they won’t be there physically, that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to see it. These globe-scattered students will instead be watching their state-side schoolmates via the university’s planned live stream.
For instance, Tom Crosby, the residence director for Samford’s Daniel House in London, has a student event planned where they will stream Step Sing’s Saturday evening session. The Daniel House hosted a similar event back in 2020.
However, watching the live stream won’t be without its challenges. Their distance from campus brings with it different time zones, which means that the students abroad will have to account for the resulting time gaps between where they are and Homewood. For instance, London is ahead of Homewood by six hours, meaning the students who are currently residing in the Daniel House will have to stay up until 1 a.m. local time if they wish to watch the stream. However, Crosby reports that his students are nevertheless “excited to see many of their friends perform on campus.”
Back in 2021, Step Sing was one of the many events impacted by the COVID -19 pandemic, which unfortunately prevented Samford from hosting what had traditionally been an annual event spanning all the way back to 1951.
Because 2020 was the last year that there was a Step Sing, a significant number of current Samford students, including many who are currently in the Samford study abroad program, have either never experienced Step Sing before, or only remember it from their freshman year.
This makes this year’s Step Sing an important and exciting one for the many students who have yet to experience and/or participate in the event, including those who plan on watching the proceedings remotely.
Step Sing 2022 will be held on Jan. 27-29. The live stream of the event will be available at samford.edu/live.
Those interested or curious about Samford’s study abroad programs can learn more by visiting abroad.samford.edu.
Arts & Life Editor
