1. Schwa is Whitman’s co-ed a capella group. There are currently 16 members.
2. The group holds tryouts every fall. Depending on demand, it may also hold auditions in the spring.
3. Members arrange all of their own songs, except for a few traditional holiday songs.
4. The group participates in the Whitman Speakeasy Event every fall and in the Choral Contest every spring.
5. It also sings at other campus events throughout the year, such as Fall Visitor’s Day, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Mr. Whitman fundraiser, and Kappa Alpha Theta’s Cakes for CASA.
6. It often has an end-of-the-year concert called Schwancert.
7. Sometimes the group sings on late nights in the library on a whim.
8. Schwa will be recording a CD in December 2011, hopefully to be released sometime next semester. This will be the first Schwa CD since 2005.
9. The name Schwa is derived from the vowel of the same name. The ‘a’ sound in about is a schwa.
10. Schwa hosts a number of parties called “Schwarties,” which are infamous across campus.