The Scot Center indoor track was electric on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Black Students Association’s (BSA) “Aux Cord Wars.” The lights were out, setting the scene for an evening full of good music and dancing. Students were given glow sticks, necklaces and even foam glow wands to light up the night as they danced and battled it out to see who would play the best song. Snacks and water were laid out for students to snack on and a stage set up in the middle of the track for DJs with microphones, sound equipment, lights and enough energy to make the whole Scot Center excited to participate.
“Aux Cord Wars,” both the company that BSA collaborated with to put on Saturday’s event and the name of the event itself, takes the meaning of the phrase beyond just plugging in your phone to a speaker and choosing who plays the best song. The event included prizes and constant interaction among the guests and the DJs. The first activity to kick off the evening was a music-themed Kahoot. With over 100 students playing, the battle for the podium was tough. Students were given song lyrics and titles, leaving them to race to fill in the rest of the song. Kai Francis ’25, the PR chair for BSA, started the evening off in an exciting fashion by winning the Kahoot and a $50 gift card. Even though she won the first event, she said that her “favorite part was seeing all the hard work we put into this event come to fruition and seeing everyone enjoy themselves.”
The musical Kahoot was only the first of many games of the evening. Up next was truly a battle of the aux cords as two students had to choose three hit songs to play from the 2010s. Both students came on stage and shared their song choices with the DJs, who then played snippets of the songs while the students in the audience danced and sang along. The two students took turns choosing and playing songs. When both students had played their chosen three songs, the students in the crowd voted for the winner with their cheers and claps.
The crowd’s endless energy and the enthusiastic DJs and MCs were what first drew Shaunta Palmer ’25 to the event at a student activities conference last year. Participating, she said, “was such a fun experience that I knew our college community would love it, and bringing it on campus would be something the college has never seen before.”
To Palmer, one of the main draws of bringing an event like this to Wooster was that “for the first time in our college experience students got to experience a different type of performance that was built for all students in mind.” Planning an event of this scale, with so many many moving parts, took over five months. There were many different people and companies who all had to agree on a day that worked for them, including the “Aux Cord Wars” company themselves. BSA also had to find a sound and stage company, and work with athletics to make sure that they could use the Scot Center track. Palmer noted that “overall, the reason this event was possible was due to the hard work of the BSA Executive Board and Julia Zimmer [director of student engagement]!”
“Aux Cord Wars” was just one of the many events BSA has planned for this semester. On Sunday, Feb. 18, BSA is hosting their annual brunch. Summarizing her favorite part of “Aux Cord Wars,” Palmer remarked, “Watching even the less social students on campus break out of their shells and fully embrace the moment is particularly rewarding. Knowing that the event provided a space where everyone felt included and could let loose is incredibly gratifying.”
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