Cornell is built upon traditions. Dragon Day, Slope Day and the rituals performed at hockey games all hark back to former times, brought back to life by constant memory and repeated action. A cappella ...

Few people were aware of the 1994 single “Insomniac” by the rock duo Billy Pilgrim, and it quickly sank into obscurity. But a cappella groups can’t stop singing it. We set out to find an explanation.

When Deke Sharon (LA’91, NEC’91), a renowned a cappella arranger and instructor, joined the Beelzebubs in the late 1980s, a cappella song selection was limited. “Everybody was singing ‘Don’t Worry, Be ...