i-f-'s. ~~CUA.f- .f-o k Welcome Home Minutes before the winner of thejohn H. Ryan Sweepstakes Award was announced, Spring Sing Director Steven Frye was notified that for the first time in 38 years, there was a tie. Social clubs Zeta Rho and TNT's show "Redistribution of Wealth" and clubs Delta Nu, Pi Theta Phi, Gamma Sigma Phi and Iota Chi's show "20/80 Vision" tied for the award, allowing two different charities to benefit from the $2,000 sweepstakes prize. According to Frye, the judging criteria had been set up to make this sort of thing just short of impossible. As it turned out, each show scored one way in one category and differently in another, balancing the scores and resulting in a tie. Zeta Rho director senior Emily Ford believed that the tie was eye-opening and beneficial for all, reminding them that there were no winners or losers in a competition aimed at helping others. "The moment Dr. Burks came up to the microphone and said, 'For the first time in Spring Sing history,' our eyes got huge, our f 2. Spring Sing hands squeezed and we shot off our feet like fireworks," Ford said. "I remember looking down at our little group of merry men jumping and hugging each other, and I felt so proud. We were like happy parents, but [after) getting to know all of the other directors and how hard they all worked, it felt more like a six-way tie. We worked together to make Spring Sing a success; our charities were able to make this world a little brighter, and I felt like God was glorified through it all." Pi Theta Phi participant junior Allison Lincoln found her original reaction to be a little less than excited. "I didn't understand the point of a tie," Lincoln said. "But, after the initial shock wore off and I was reminded of what Spring Sing is supposed to be about, I realized that it honestly doesn't matter who won, and the best part is, two amazing organizations got to receive money when it would have originally only been one." Frye felt a great sense of pride after the two clubs tied for the Ryan Sweepstakes Award. "There is a little bit of being a parent that's in directing Spring Sing," Frye said. "Whenever someone wins an award, I'm proud of them like I am my own child. When two of them share, I imagine it's like being Venus and Serena Williams' parents, so proud of both of them. There is that sense where I was just gratified that people had done their best and had been recognized in that way." Frye believed the shared award complied with Harding's mission of developing Christian servants in faith, learning and living. "Spring Sing competition is like when Paul talks about running the Christian race," Frye said. "The idea is that everybody runs in order to receive the crown. If you've done your best, you're going to receive your award, but you don't begrudge somebody who has gotten something else. You don't diss another in order to make yourself feel better. Now, will there always be people that do that? Yes, there will be some. But for the most part, I think the student body really liked the outcome." Ashley Rosenbaum
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