The Saint Mary's Student Government Association will offer $250 to the College community member who composes the best lyrics for the developing school fight song.
The campaign for the song, led by Athletic Commissioner Danielle Lerner, aims to unify the Saint Mary's community by incorporating academics, athletics and leadership into a common expression of identity.
"I'm hoping to bring together not only the present four classes of Saint Mary's, but the future and past classes, for unity of all Saint Mary's women," Lerner said.
As liaison between athletics and student government, Lerner said her job is to encourage student support and involvement in athletics. When she first took office, she said she was surprised to learn that no fight song existed.
"There has been talk amongst students for a few years about wanting a fight song, but the interest to develop one always fell through," director of Student Activities and Board of Governors advisor Georgeanna Rosenbush said.
The development of the song will benefit the entire community, not just athletics, Rosenbush said. Student leadership organizations often travel to conferences where other schools chant their fight song. Saint Mary's students will now be able to answer back.
The first phase of the project is to generate lyrics through a competition open to the Saint Mary's community. Lerner said there is no specific length requirement for lyrics, but they should encompass the spirit of Saint Mary's and the integrity of women.
"The lyrics should acknowledge the community as the Belles, as lately extra emphasis has been placed on that part of our identity," Lerner said.
After the Nov. 1 deadline for submissions, the Board of Governors will narrow entries to two or three selections, based on the overall number of entries. They will post the finalists on the online Prism system, where students will be able to vote for their favorite. The author of the winning entry will receive the $250 prize money sponsored by the BOG.
Once the lyrics are finalized, a separate competition will be held for the commissioning of music. Exact details of this competition are still undetermined.
Rosenbush said they plan to unveil a recorded version of the fight song on March 19 at Midnight Madness. This recorded version will then be incorporated into various campus events.
"This project is a wonderful idea," said Rosenbush. "It shows the growing pride developing for the school and the desire to share it with others."
