The Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) and the Iona Players Skits O’Frenicks Improv Group co-sponsored the first annual Freshmen Open Mic Night with Resident Assistants.

The event, held at the Doorley Hall Auditorium on Sept. 26, was aimed at freshmen who may be too nervous to perform at the popular, annual Coffee House event, but still want to perform.

“For me as a freshman, I was too nervous to try out for plays and other opportunities around campus,” said senior and GSA President Tyler Conroy. “I wanted freshman to get involved on campus in a smaller, safer environment.”

The night opened up with a group of resident assistants singing a song about being RAs. Juniors Ray Garo, Savannah Lang, Mick Potthast, Najee Barnes, and Kerri-Leigh Heesemann along with seniors Andrew Casalino and Conroy cracked jokes about the hardships of being an RA, in songs such as “Would you turn down your music, tonight?”

The first freshman performer of the night was Penelope Golden, who sang a capella “Part of Your World” from the Disney movie “The Little Mermaid.”

Karina Gonzalez, who sang Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop,” explains why she performed. “I wanted to get involved with singing in the school,” she said. “It was also my first time performing in front of a crowd like this.”

In between every couple of singers, the Skits O’Frenicks performed an improvisational game. These games included half-life, word play and the objection game.

The Skits O’s used the objection game to talk about the word “gay.” Since the event was cosponsored with the GSA, it was a great opportunity to tie in the club’s goals and mission into the Skits O’s games.

“They’re a great group,” Conroy said of the Skits O’s. “They bring energy and break down comfort zones.”

In the game, they discussed why the word “gay” can be hurtful and how the meaning of the word has changed over time. Since the Skits O’s were adding a comedic element, teaching the audience about the word “gay” was non-abrasive and didn’t come off as if the group was preaching.

The game started off with the players talking about how the word “gay” is offensive, but ended with the players discussing why it’s nice to sometimes see someone without any pants on.

The event was packed, leaving some students standing. “It’s great to see this kind of turnout,” Conroy said. “It was great to see so many upperclassmen at an event aimed solely at freshmen.”

Sanford & Sons, a group of freshmen made up of Sanford Jones, Jean-Carlos Polonia and John Beckerly, performed “Love Bug” by the Jonas Brothers. The three performers covered the song only using an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar and a beat-boxer.

Sanford & Sons also helped out Kelvin Najarro perform Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars “Billionaire.” Najarro performed Bruno Mars parts, while Sanford & Songs rapped Travie McCoy’s parts.

Also performing Bruno Mars was Aaliyah Palham with “When I Was Your Man.” She switched the song to talk about herself, making the lyrics, “Now this baby’s dancing/ but she’s dancing with another man.”

Singing wasn’t the only way freshmen performed. Zoe Wojetech performed an original poem.

Closing out the night was Julian Hunt, who performed a soulful rendition of The Weekend’s “Enemy.”