CAFNR skits open to rave reviews

By Andrea Kszystyniak

Published Sept. 26, 2008

The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources put on its skit night Tuesday, which consisted of a series of mini skits designed to highlight the overall theme of CAFNR Week, "CAFNR: It's more than college, it's a way of life."

CAFNR Week is about "showcasing agriculture and all of the great people in the school of agriculture," said Jessica Denker, a sophomore agricultural education major and member of the event's steering committee.

As the auditorium at The Missouri Theatre crowded with students eager to participate in the event, the fervor of competition was palpable. A sea of students clad in red shirts bearing CAFNR Week's theme on the back and a pair of tiger paw prints on the front clustered near the stage, talking excitedly and preparing their skits before the event began. The teams knew winning skit night would give them a great chance of winning CAFNR Week overall.

Skit night is worth a lot of points for the teams, said Lezlie Taylor, a spectator and junior agricultural education major.

"Each club gets points for each person who comes to watch them," Taylor said. The winning clubs are the ones who garnered the most points overall.

Brant Mettler of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity was named king while Annette Bruch of Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity was named queen.

As the lights dimmed and a Kid Rock song blared from the speakers, emcees Chip Kempe and Miranda Leppin took the stage. After a brief introduction of the steering committee members, the show began with the opening act, Alpha Gamma Ro fraternity and its skit, which poked fun at a CAFNR official. Leppin played the director, showing a student the ins and outs of CAFNR, using a time machine to show the student CAFNR back in the 1970s, '80s, '90s and now.

During a brief musical interlude, Leppin exited the stage and returned in an 'N Sync-style outfit. Strung up like a puppet from another student standing on a chair, Leppin re-enacted the dance from the "Bye Bye Bye" music video, pumping her fists and jumping up and down as the crowd cheered and laughed.

Later in the evening, the Agricultural Education Society mimed '90s TV show "The Magic School Bus," comparing all of the parts of CAFNR to parts of the human body. A student, dressed in a gnarled, fluorescent orange wig and oversized white blouse played the role of Ms. Frizzle, urging on her "students" in a high-pitched shriek.

Amid frequent jokes about professors' quirks were dance offs, and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"-style competitions where random audience members were asked to perform scenes from a hat. The audience showed support often, erupting in cheers.

"Everybody just kept trying to have a good time and throw a little fun into what everybody does throughout the college," senior Tyler Jones said. "It was a great way to reflect on old times."