Hope College - Milestone Yearbook (Holland, MI)

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24 Nykerk

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 Holding Back the Tears Parent’s Weekend: Hundreds of Moms and Hoiland. yellow chrysanthemum corsages appear as if by magic, and nervous, excited freshman and sophomore women prepare for the Nykerk Cup Competition. This year, the forty-second annual Nykerk Competition is once again a main attraction of the busy weekend, as it has been for over forty years. The History: (This is an excerpt from the October 24.1946 Anchor, the first Nykerk Cup Competition was held on March 16.1936). A number of years ago. the men of the Sophomore and Freshman classes were in eager preparation for the annual Soph-Frosh pull, a tradition we know today, and one envoking much rivalry between the two classes. The pull was run off as scheduled. It was a quick victory for one of the teams, which in itself would have been all right, save for the one factor the men had overlooked. It seemed as though the feminine aggregation which had been assembled to cheer the men on to victory had been very disappointed at the ease with which the battle was won.” The fairer sex held a council of war. and demanded that they, too. be given a chance to display their class spirit, teamwork, and their Amazonian biceps. A mediator in the form of Dr. Nykerk then intervened before open hostilities ran rampant, and laid before the feminine portion of the student body, his plan for a contest, which, while not so strenuous as the pull, would serve as an end for working off any excess class spirit the girls might have and offer something unique in the way of inter-class rivalry. Dr. Nykerk’s plan was this, the Sophomore and Freshman classes each year would present the best each class could offer in three lines: acting, oratory, and music. In Dr. Nykerk's plan it was stipulated that advisors could be chosen for the freshmen from the Junior class, and for the sophomores from the Senior class. Coaches from the Freshman and Sophomore classes would be chosen to supervise and egg their teams on to victory.” Dr. Nykerk went still further and donated a cup upon which the name of the winning class was to be engraved Thus it was the Nykerk Cup Contest came to be ... November 4: It’s an hour before ‘curtain time' and coaches rush about pinning carnations on blue sweaters, locating misplaced gloves, whispering encouragements to apprehensive actresses, and offering last minute advice for two very tense orators. Cries of meet you in the middle are Th«clasa of'81

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heard from both frosh and soph Long before anyone is ready, the competition begins The performance: Senior Catherine Van Mater, coach for the sophomores, conducts, as over 100 voices join to sing. He Ain't Heavy. He's My Brother Of course, this is just a portion of the sophomores' performance. Deb Van Hoeven and Sheryl Radlike. both seniors, exchange proud glances as sophomore Melissa Raak delivers her address on the topic of Loneliness. Seniors Lauri Kremers and Elizabeth Vander Woude are no less proud as they observe the adaptation of The Genesis of Narnia they directed for the sophomores Equally impressive are the performances offered by the freshmen. Junior Sue Sharp ends three weeks of intensive rehearsal as she conducts the freshmen in a rendition of Climb Every Mountain. Freshman Cathy Krueger is responsible for the happy faces of coaches Janis Lundeen and Ann Helmus as she delivers her oration, also on the topic of Loneliness. Juniors Stacy Burris and Kathie Smith see their directing efforts come to life in the freshman presentation of A Barrel of Peanuts The Decision: Hearts pound as the judges cast their votes while senior Paul Daniels performs Elton John's Friends Finally the moment arrives and the announcement declared. Smiles and tears abound as the promise of meeting in the middle is fulfilled as the evening of competition ends in a second triumph for the class of 1981. Sophomores and (reshmen embrace in the celebrated ' meeting in the middle Suzanne Galer exhibits her thesptan skills in The Genesis ol Narnia The sparkling hair ol Cmdy Jones m The Genesis ol Nama Nykerk 25