STATE OF INDIANA

The Indianapolis Uplift Foundation and the 10th District Reclamation and Retention Committee, in collaboration with the Brotherhood in the state of Indiana held an Inaugural Indiana Statewide Marchdown. The first rendition of the Marchdown featured three undergraduate chapters who shared the stage in a friendly competition. This event was held at the historic Madame CJ Walker Theatre in Indianapolis, IN on February 4, 2023, and had a crowd of over 500 members of the community and Divine Nine. The chapters who performed in the Inaugural Statewide Marchdown were Rho Sigma, Zeta Epsilon, and Chi Sigma. This event also featured a guest performance from the Step Team from The Indianapolis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The Master of Ceremonies for this event was Eric Saunders (2005 Zeta Epsilon), also known under his performance name of The Green-Eyed Bandit. This event was the first of many of its kinds, as brothers are looking known under his performance name of The Green-Eyed Bandit. This event was the first of many of its kinds, as brothers are looking to focus on creative and engaging approaches to reclaim our members across the state. The “Hop Teams” competed for approximately ten minutes a piece and engaged the crowd with a mix of introductions, traditional hops, party hops, chants, transitions, and showmanship that was all intertwined into the performances. This event featured a diverse panel of Ques as judges. The panel of judges were Alex Newall (1987 Rho Sigma), Willie Gupp (1984 Chi Sigma), Dane Middlebrook (1991 Zeta Phi), Quentin Hunter (2007 Zeta Epsilon), and Arin Stallworth (2014 Upsilon Kappa Kappa). At the conclusion of the event and after the final tally of scores, Zeta Epsilon took home the first ever Marchdown championship trophy! This event has plans to return next year, at an even larger scale.