Alpha Psi Omega Throws Inaugural Shakespeare Ball

On Sept. 6 at 8:30 p.m., students congregated in the Hearst Hall lobby for Alpha Psi Omega’s Inaugural Shakespeare Ball. The event was announced on the chapter’s Instagram, promising “a fun evening of music, activities, and the Bard.” 

Photo by: Rachel Spooner ('26)

“What better way to kick off the year than a party?” said Emma Jean Scott, the President of Oglethorpe’s APO chapter. Scott heavily praised the members of the APO executive board for the planning of the theater fraternity’s first event of the semester, namely, event co-chairs James Patrick and Madelyn Wright. 

Given the theme of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and with the encouragement of the APO brothers, revelers arrived in a variety of whimsical attire: fairy wings, sparkling gowns, colored suits, bright makeup, silicone elf ears, and flower crowns. “Everyone loves a reason to get dressed up, look pretty, and take pictures,” Patrick said.  

Hearst Hall was transformed into a veritable enchanted forest for the event with garlands of lights and plastic flowers draped over the entryway, glowing balloons littering the floor, and electric candles lighting the room. 

Neveah Riddle, the chapter’s Public Relations chair, said that activities for the night entailed “Shakespeare trivia, a costume contest, and a scavenger hunt,” with prizes for the winners of each event. Dancing and finger food complemented the games, accompanied by the Bridgerton and Saltburn soundtracks, as well as hits by Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter.  

“We wanted to showcase a core part of the theater program at Oglethorpe: the work of William Shakespeare,” Scott said. When faced with the challenge of planning an event that would draw in students of all different majors and interests, as well as represent the theater fraternity’s mission, the APO brothers found Shakespeare a common thread. Apart from the gothic architecture that evokes the Bard’s aesthetic, Oglethorpe incorporates the works of Shakespeare into many courses on campus, and the audition process for theater scholarships distributed by the university heavily involves Shakespeare's performances. “The Bard has always been a core piece of OU Theatre’s tradition,” said Scott.  

“We knew planning this event was going to be a challenge, given our tight budget and the pressure of it being the first event of the year,” said Wright. But with around 100 attendees of theater and non-theatre students alike, and with promises from the board that this would become an annual kick-off celebration, the brothers declared the event a success. Possible future themes for the Shakespeare Ball include Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and King Lear. 

Photos by: Rachel Spooner ('26)

Scott, Patrick, and Wright all agreed that the main goal of the event was to give every student, regardless of their involvement in theater, a space to gather and socialize, as well as spread awareness about APO, especially for incoming freshmen. “As a freshman, I didn’t even learn about APO’s existence until halfway through the year,” Scott said. “Coming into my term as APO’s President, one of my major goals was to have bigger and more recognizable events. A huge piece of this is having a distinct and annual kick-off event that sets the tone for the year.” 

And set the tone, it did. Fall 2024 at Oglethorpe University is shaping up to be a period of heightened activity across campus. The Shakespeare Ball took place the same day as Freshman Convocation, the day after the first “Petey’s Madness” Oglethorpe athletics pep rally held by 6th Man, and two weeks before Dr. Kathryn McClymond’s inauguration as Oglethorpe’s 18th president. 

Later this year, the brothers will host a Haunted House, which is a popular APO Oglethorpe tradition, as well as several other smaller events, like the APO Field Day, which occurred Sept. 13. Scott corrected a common misconception about the exclusivity of APO events, asserting that everyone is invited to attend and participate in the joy of theater. Scott said, “The brothers of APO aim to uplift our theater community, and that means sharing it with anyone who wants a piece.” 

OUMA Night Highlights Art and Accomplishment with Glitz and Glam

For one night in April, students stepping onto the third floor of Lowry would find themselves transported into the glittering, artistic scene of the Roaring 20s: Oglethorpe Edition.

Pictured (Left to Right): Michael Yelton ('24), Kate Aret ('25), Angel Wilman ('26), Penelope Bertrand ('26), Faolan Curry ('25), Devlynn Miller ('26), Morgan Quach ('25), Heidi Ullman ('26), Sophia Sobrino ('24), Chloe White ('26), Sebastian Martinez Ramirez ('26), and Joseph David.

Photo by: Fynn Grindle ('25)

Hosted by Art Flow in collaboration with the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art (OUMA), the yearly OUMA Night on April 12 showcased a variety of student performers, artists, curators, and vendors while encouraging attendees to dress up and dress out; flapper dresses, suspenders, ties, sequins, pearls, and all.

And, to Heidi Ullman (‘26), Penelope Bertrand (‘26), and Sophia Sobrino (‘24), student organizers of the event from Art Flow, the turnout was gratifyingly over 100.

“We really wanted as many people to attend as we could hold,” Bertrand said. “A lot of students even brought friends and family who don’t attend OU. I was more than happy with how many people attended and got involved.”

Pictured Artwork By (Left to Right): Cece Campbell ('24), Gabriela Dumar ('27), Audrey Rebstock ('25), Audrey Rebstock, ('25), Brook Deutschman ('24), Michael Yelton ('24), Sophia Sobrino ('24), Heidi Ullman ('26), and Penelope Bertrand ('26)

Photos by: Fynn Grindle ('25)

Notes sang, chords strummed, jokes told, and stanzas recited momentarily demanded the attention of attendees with performances from Joy Carpenter (‘24), Emma Jean Scott (‘25), Cynthia Tinschmidt Leal (‘27), Nevaeh Riddle (‘26), Jennah Waters (‘25), Eden Lipham (‘26), Amber Williams (‘26), Miyah Jones (‘25), Gavin Spyre (GSU ‘26), and mOUthing off Improv. 

In between performances, those in attendance could peruse the themed food and drinks tables, take Polaroid pictures at the photo booth, browse the student vendor tables, and admire the pieces of student artwork displayed. Small businesses and vendors included: Devlynn Miller (‘26) with jewelry; Flor Chavez Barriga (‘24) with crochet chokers and crochet bouquet commissions; Sydney Jones (‘24) with “Syd’s Sips,” offering lemonade and drinks, and her sister’s stationary store “Black Girl Bindery”; Madi Steelly (‘24) and Brook Deutschman (‘24) with “Pig Square,” selling artwork; Kate Aret (‘25) with knitted products; and Morgan Quach (‘25) with “88 Cranes,” offering crocheted items and earrings.

Pictured (Left to Right): Robin Muse ('24), Madi Steelly ('24), Brook Deutschman ('24), Joseph David, Penelope Bertrand ('26), Morgan Quach ('25), Kate Aret ('25), Rein Chebat ('24), Sydney Jones ('24), Devlynn Miller ('26), and Flor Chavez Barriga ('24).

Photos by: Fynn Grindle ('25)

Spirits were high and the conversation remained lively, an underlying sense of pride and achievement steady well throughout the night. 

“I am indubitably, indescribably, incandescently, positively happy to be here tonight,” Ullman emphasized. 

Bertrand felt similarly, expressing her thoughts after the event’s conclusion. “I kept feeling overwhelmed with joy seeing everything come together,” she said. “I was feeling very proud of everyone and all the work we put in. I think everything went great. I was happiest with the photo area and seeing the excitement of everybody as the photos developed. Next year, I would love to have food and snacks cycling in throughout the night so if people show up later, there is still something for them.”  

Pictured (Left to Right): An image of the vendor hall, Cynthia Tinschmidt Leal ('27), the "Sensory Space" set up in collaboration with DNSO, and Polaroid prints from the photo booth.

Photos by: Fynn Grindle ('25)

Indie Bands Take a Chance on Vinyl Records

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Taylor Swift. Adele. Olivia Rodrigo. Big-name artists are filling record store shelves with

numerous colorful vinyl variants of their award-winning albums. Artists who have massive

fanbases and consistently churn out chart-toppers are taking advantage of the fact that, according

to the Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl records have outsold CDs for the third

year in a row. By combining the forces of their dedicated young fans, in-demand tracks,

formidable record labels, and the nostalgic resurgence of the vinyl format, popular artists are

following a strategy that makes them millions of dollars.

Unlike CDs or cassettes, vinyl cannot be produced from home, making the cost and venture of

pressing vinyl much higher than that of other physical formats. But the trends don’t lie: vinyl

sales are up 26% for the first half of 2023, according to Luminate. Even independent up-and-

coming artists who don’t have a powerful record label to cover the costs of marketing and

distributing physical music media are taking the plunge.

Jessica Thompson, a member of Hotel Fiction, an alternative indie rock band based out of

Athens, Ga., which performed at last year’s “Stomp the Lawn” event at Oglethorpe University,

said that despite the possible financial pitfalls, releasing music on vinyl is a risk that she and her

band are willing to take.

“It’s technically not practical. But I think people really connect with buying physical media,”

Thompson said. “It’s also popular to buy something that represents an artist’s actual work. Like,

you could buy a t-shirt, but the artists created the music, and to be able to purchase that means a

lot to people, even in the era of streaming.”

According to Soundcharts, Spotify pays artists $0.0032 per single stream. To exemplify the

divide between profits from streaming versus vinyl, an artist would have to earn 780,000 Spotify

streams to make the same amount of money from selling 100 vinyl records at an average price of

$25.

For a band like Hotel Fiction having just over 50,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, vinyl is the

most profitable when it comes to making money off music alone. Keron Robertson, an employee

at local Atlanta record store, Criminal Records, said, “Streaming just pays little to nothing for the

artists--well under a penny. Fractions of a penny. So even though for the record, it takes a

financial commitment, there's still a better return just inherently over streaming.”

Thompson emphasized the dedication it requires to invest in vinyl. “From the business

perspective of releasing music on vinyl, it's very expensive and requires a lot of upfront money,”

she said. “When we released our first album on vinyl, we pressed 2000 copies, and it was very

expensive. We had to cough up some personal money to make that happen.”

Hotel Fiction’s debut album, “Soft Focus,” was released in 2021, and the vinyl is priced at $30

on the band’s website. Despite being released two years ago, the band is “still selling through the

vinyl,” said Thompson. “We'll be selling through it for years to come.”

Unlike popular artists backed by record labels who can afford to press a seemingly endless

number of records to meet similarly endless demand, independent bands do not have the same

luxury. “There’s so many things that cost money in music,” Thompson said. “Normally, you

could use an advance and a distribution company through a label to acquire vinyl at good

prices.”

But according to Thompson, releasing music on vinyl is not just about the money—there’s an

emotional aspect of the format that is felt by both artist and fan alike.

Thompson described a moment in which she noticed the heartfelt connection that vinyl can

provide. “We were playing this show two weeks ago in Atlanta, this festival, where we didn't

really expect very many people to show. We were about to go on stage, and I looked out and

right in the front, there was this girl, like, clutching our vinyl in her hands.” Thompson explained

that the fan did not purchase the record at the festival like she originally thought; instead, the fan

had brought it from home for the band to sign. "It was worn down, and she said she listened to it

so many times in the last two years and the music got her through a lot of hard situations.”

Local record collector, Trevor Kelly, said, “Record collecting is part of what defines me and how

people know me.” Kelly has over 400 vinyl records and has been collecting since 2014. He

added that most of the records in his collection have sentimental value. “There are several that

remind me of shows I have seen with my family or trips we have taken. They bring back

memories when I play them.”

When someone buys an expensive record from an artist even when they can listen to the same

songs for free on a streaming platform, Thompson believes that to be significant, saying, “People

buy records on vinyl that really mean a lot to them.”

There is also a certain “meditative aspect” of listening to an album on vinyl rather than on a

streaming platform, according to Kelly. “When streaming, I can just choose a random playlist

and let it go,” he said. “But I like the ritualistic aspect of listening to records: choosing the

record, looking at the artwork, flipping the record... I find the process more engaging. Listening

to records is more than just background noise.”

Vinyl encourages a delayed gratification style of listening that many find appealing. Kelly

mentioned the charm of deliberation that is found in selecting an album to spin and listening to it

all the way through. “We tend to forget how many great tracks are on an album when we create

playlists and cherry-pick songs from different albums and artists,” Kelly said. “Many artists use

an album to tell a story, and you don't get the whole experience without listening to the album in

its entirety.”

Thompson echoed this sentiment. “When we write our albums, we take a lot of time to think

about the track order, but listeners on streaming don't normally listen in order at all, so it's really

cool to sell and release our album that is recorded in a way where you have to listen to it in

order,” she said.

Even for older listeners like Kelly who grew up with vinyl as the main format for purchasing and

listening to music, he believes that there is a future for vinyl records. “Vinyl records are

mainstream,” he said. “Record stores are everywhere. Younger generations are collecting and

listening.” The largest age group demographic purchasing vinyl records is, in fact, Gen Z.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, approximately 8% of people aged

13-28 purchased at least one new vinyl album in 2022, compared to 6% of millennials (aged 29-

43), 7% of Gen-X (aged 44-57), and 5% of baby boomers (aged 58-77). Especially with stores

like Target and Urban Outfitters selling records and record players, as well as artists releasing

special, colored variants exclusive to these stores, vinyl is more accessible than ever, according

to Kelly.

“That means the industry is growing. Young people need to carry the ball for the next generation

to keep it going,” Kelly said. “I love to see a touch of analog in our digital world.”

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*This article was written as an assignment for COM-240-001: Intro to Newswriting (Fall 2023)