On Thursday, Sept. 11, at the strike of midnight, campus came alive with the sound of singing. Students left their dorm rooms and came together for a night of song and dance in celebration of those who survived the trials and tribulations of “aca-week.” An annual Wheaton tradition, “Slype Night” is a unique and exciting way for Wheaton’s acapella groups to congratulate their newest members.

“Slype is very important to us because it gives us a chance to welcome our new members into our family,” said Kelsey Albert ’16, president of co-ed acapella group The Blend. “Something that we really love about Slype is our tradition of a ‘Slype Song,’ which is a song that we spend very little time preparing and perform only once.”

The Blend performed their rendition of “SexyBack,” while all-girl group, The Wheatones, performed another pop hit, “Cosmic Love.”

Before there could be a celebration, however, there first had to be auditions.

“The selection process is always difficult because there are so many great voices and not enough room in VUJ (Voices United to Jam),” said Lauren Hirata ’16, vice president of semi-acapella group, VUJ. “We often run into the problem where we want to take everyone at callbacks because they have amazing voices, but we have to make sure all of our sections (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) are balanced.”

With the new semester comes the chance for Wheaton’s many acapella groups to introduce new members and new repertoires. Some groups, like The Whims, plan on learning pop hits as well as older classics.

Margaret McDonough ’15 of The Whims says to expect “an awesome repertoire, including The Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi and Rich Girl by Hall & Oates!” The Whims will also release their CD “The Tree and the Vine” this year.

Wheaton’s prestigious singing groups –  The Whims, The Wheatones, The Gentlemen Callers, The Blend, and Voices United to Jam – put on their first sucessful perfromacne  at Wheaton’s Parents and Family Concert on Friday, Sept. 19 in Cole Chapel.