A Mock Rock to Rock Your Socks
Written by Victoria Barry
Every year during homecoming, students participate in Hillsdale’s popular Mock Rock dance competitions. Dorms, fraternities and sororities, and off-campus houses band together to have some fun and show off their dance skills. Although each dance only lasts about 3-5 minutes, the amount of time and dedication students devote to this event is enormous. Senior Eric Walker explains that, for the men of Simpson, being a member of the Mock Rock team involves the willingness to sacrifice a lot of time to consistently attend practices that often run over 2 hours. Mehgan Cain and Claudia Sladick explained how they spent hours at a time locked in basement of Lane watching dance videos. “We had no dance experience. Half of it we learned ourselves and taught it, the other half we choreographed ourselves.” Ultimately, each team’s hard work paid off – students and alumni enjoyed the performances immensely. This year’s Mock Rock was a huge success.
“The best part is when someone’s suggestion that we think has no way of working happens, and everyone just jumps around and loses it. And the final performance…we love it.”
– Eric Walker
Senior in Simpson Residence Hall
“It was so fun to see girls I didn’t know and you wouldn’t expect to come to practice and be really excited. Everything’s been filled with laughs. They’re all willing to get out of comfort zone and put themselves out there.”
– Mehgan Cain and Claudia Sladick
Sophomore resident assistants in Olds Residence Hall
“This is my first year doing Mock Rock, and it’s really fun to see the girls working together. I like the unity it’s building, and I feel like I’ve gotten closer to people working through this because it’s not as formal as other things we do… we’re approaching it for fun, it’s not super competitive.”
– Angela Bonvissuto
Junior residence assistant in McIntyre Residence Hall
Victoria Barry,’16, is majoring in English with a classical education minor. She is the president of the A.A. Milne Society, an editor for the Tower Light, an active member of the Catholic Society, and a volunteer at Mary Randall Preschool.