Thus, last autumn Yale's course catalog offered a seminar entitled, "Singing Community: Field Work in A Cappella at Yale."

Weiss and her six students documented Yale's a cappella ecosystem as if they were zoologists combing the Galapagos. We will spare you the entirety of their revelations; instead, we offer here a brief field guide a cappella rush at Yale:

Woolsey Hall Jam
Held the first Sunday after freshmen arrive on campus. Each a cappella group performs two songs, providing prospective vocalists an opportunity to discern each group's individual style. Although, truth be told, a cappella groups at Yale are like dorms or fraternities at other campuses. Industrious freshmen -- and you may come upon one or two of those at Yale --already have an idea of which group they want to belong to before stepping on campus.

Dwight Hall Jam
Held at historic Dwight Hall, across the street from the freshman quad, on the following Friday. Each group again sings two songs. Afterward each group tries to lure prospects to their sign-up table, the placement of which is crucial in the dim, ancient, column-space. There actually exists a Singing Group Council to decide such matters.

"You have to understand," says Weiss. "There's a lot of politics involved."

"Dwight Hall usually ends around one a.m.," says Sophie, one of Weiss' students, "and then auditions begin at 9 a.m. the next morning."

Rush Meal
A cappella's version of a fraternity rush party, except that it really is a dinner. Again, the Singing Group Council, or "SGC", has instituted strict rules as to where these meals can be held and how elaborate they can  be.

"Things were getting too elaborate," explains Weiss. "There was talk of flying prospective singers to California, for example."

Singing Dessert
Held at the conclusion of the rush meal, it is the group's lone opportunity to give a full-length concert to their prospects.

Tap Night
In itself, this process is worthy of a Hollywood film. Tap Night is a combination of National Signing Day and a panty raid. Like everything else at Yale, it is a marriage of ancient, arcane and often impractical rituals. 

All of the groups line up outside the High Street gate on Old Campus, site of most freshman dorms. The gate is closed. The Whiffs and Whim 'N Rhythm (whose own tap nights take place in April) each give a brief concert.

At the conclusion of the singing, Yale's dean of student affairs drops a broom, signaling the gates to be opened. A "runner" from each a cappella group, then races off in the direction of the dorms, heading directly to the room of a desired freshman prospect. The runner holds a "tap cup", which resembles a trophy cup.

"It's a stampede," says Kjeldgaard. "One year the dean got knocked over and broke two fingers."

The first runner to reach a prospect's door, his or her group basically is given the right of first refusal. The tappee must reply, "Yes", "No" or "Maybe."

As with everything else at Yale, tap night is hyper-competitive. The a cappella groups actually have tryouts among themselves to select a runner. Kjeldgaard, who belonged to the Spizzwinks before becoming a Whiff, was their runner. But then, he was the captain of his high school cross-country team.

Don Gooding is the founder of acappella.com and former executive director of the ICCA. A former Whiff himself (class of '80), Gooding based his decision on where to attend college on a cappella.

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