Yale. One of the most respected universities in the country. Many aspire to get into this famous school, myself being among them, but only a select few manage to prove themselves worthy of attending it.

What makes this school so amazing, though? The rival of Harvard, another famous school, Yale has thousands of applicants each year. The acceptance rate is 8.6%, yet the many students who apply are not discouraged.

One of these students was my mother, and she graduated in ’92 with a masters degree in Soviet and East European Studies. Being one of the thousands of alumni, she was invited to a special dinner hosted by the western Maine branch of the Yale Club. There, alumni of the area could meet or see each other, and talk about those great college years, and their current jobs, to plays they have performed in and places they have visited.

Imagine you are there. Before having dinner is the time for chatting. Hors d’oeuvres are served, and people mill around, politely chatting, or engaging in lively conversions about current events. Some laugh aloud, others are quieter. Either way, all seem to be enjoying themselves.

After a good hour of appetizers and conversation, it is time for dinner. The first course of three, a salad, readied taste buds for a delicious main course. You can choose from salmon, steak, or vegetarian pasta, all succulent options. After finishing your main course, Lee Corbin, the president of the Yale Club stands up to speak. She is a women with short gray hair and intelligent eyes. When she talks, she talks with confidence, and seems to know in great detail about everything she says. Corbin talks about the Yale club first, a brief history, and then how glad she is that you and all of the other alumni are here. Then she changes the subject to the Yale Spizzwinks(?), an all male a Capella group who travel all over the world giving concerts. Lee Corbin is now giving another brief history, except

the history of the Spizzwinks(?) is much more interesting.

“One night, late in 1913, four young Yale freshmen met at Mory’s Temple Bar to pick a name for their new singing group. Though there was already an a cappella group of Yale, the Whiffenpoofs, these freshmen decided they would like to be able to sing more light-aired songs.” She starts. “After thinking and drinking (perhaps more drinking than thinking), one of them glimpsed the ghost of Frank Johnson. Mr. Johnson, a man of Iowa, had gained notoriety in his town when he attributed the Great Corn Blight of 1906 to a mythical insect called the Spizzwink (which only he could see). The singer jumped up at once. “That’s it!” he shouted. “We’ll call the group ‘The Spizzwinks.””‘ She continues “That year, the editor of the Yale Banner was unsure of the spelling of the fledgling group and added a question mark in parentheses. The group liked the look of “The Spizzwinks(?)” and the parenthetical question mark is still used today.”

You must be asking yourself why she is giving this speech. If you must know, the Spizzwinks(?) are performing for you tonight! Put yourself in the mindset of an eighth grade girl and you can understand my excitement. Being a singer myself, I am ecstatic at this point. Handsome college boys who can sing really well? Surreal.

They walk into the room, all of them wearing tuxedos. As soon as they arrange themselves in a semi-circle, they begin singing “She Will Be Loved”. Only after they have stunned you by their quality do they introduce themselves. They give their names, and their majors. Some have quick, funny lines to go along with their introductions. The mechanics major wants to be a machine when he grows up, the religion major is going to be God, and the political science major says he will work at McDonalds!

They then resume singing. Their voices blend together in the most brilliant way that it is almost beyond words. First the “Yale Football Medley”, then a religious song titled “Over Jordan”, along with singing “Build Me Up Buttercup” and a few other songs. Then, they do a skit! This skit is witty, and is about a how a Harvard alumni is trapped on top of a burning building with her baby. A Harvard football player catches the baby, saving its life. But what sounds bad about that? Well, the football player celebrates his catch as if he is holding a football, not a infant, and throws the poor child on the ground

with all his might. To bring it all together, the last line is “And that is what happens if you go to Harvard.” I myself have no opposition to Harvard, and I like both Yale and Harvard equally, but I must admit, this skit is quite funny.

After a few more arrangements, they are done for the night. They go into the foyer of the restaurant, where they are selling CDs. I gather my things, and say good bye to the others who have been at my table. As I walk out of the main room into the foyer, I give my thanks to Lee Corbin for hosting such an entertaining event. Then I walk into the room that has not only CDs by an amazing a cappella group, but also contains the true stars of the night. Unfortunately, there is only a few that still linger there.

I buy their most recent CD, “The Gloves Are Off’, which contains many of the songs I had enjoyed throughout the evening. Then I ask one of the Spizzwinks(?), Mike Lavigne, who will graduate in 2009, for a picture with me. My mom has offered to take the photo, and Mike decides to quickly have a picture taken! My night is complete. I have seen cute college boys perform amazing choral arrangements, bought their CD, and then have gotten a picture with one of them!

To learn more about the Spizzwinks(?), go to http://www.yale.edu/spizzwin/.