ON THE MOVE The Vineyard Church moves from Seventh Street to Woodlawn Drive beginning Sept. 14.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
EASTERN SPLITS OPENER
Check out our online photo gallery of all the fraternaties and sororities performing at the step show friday.
The Eastern men’s soccer team went 1-1 in its first two matches of the season at home.
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Dai ly Eastern News
THE
W W W .D A I L YE A S TE R N N E W S. C O M
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014
VOL. 99 | NO. 7
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
Comedian to perform at 2014 Family Weekend By Samantha Middendorf Entertainment Editor | @Samantha_EE
CHYNNA MILLER | DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Marvin Collins, a senior pre-medicine major, and Jerome Montgomery, a senior pre-medicine major, represent their fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., by stepping Friday during the Yard Show on the steps of the Doudna Fine Arts Center.
Step show brings minority awareness By: Roberto Hodge Multicultural editor | @BertoHodge Red and nude toned lace panties rained down from the Doudna steps as the women cheered on the “pretty boys” of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity’s cane stepping routine Friday evening. Their routine was part of the National Panhellenic Council, which had its annual Yard Show, comprised of six of the nine historically African-American fraternities and sororities. The Yard Show is meant to bring awareness to the “Divine Nine” as they are usually called. Wearing white button-ups with red ties, dress pants and shoes, the men of Kappa Alpha Psi danced and shifted their bodies in front of the steps. They tapped their red and white canes to the ground, exciting the crowd. Even the NPHC President Jarvis Burks joined in the dancing routine, seeing so many African-Americans and other races gathered at the steps watching the show. The show gives students on campus a glimpse of what all the organizations are about
and their historical importance that dates back to slavery. The stomping and historical background information from the fraternities and sororities were well received. “It’s just to pay homage to our ancestors,” Burks said. Burks, who is a member of the Kappas, said their organization practiced for two weeks to learn their moves. “It’s something social we do, but we also give back to the community,” Burks said, “We want people to know us besides (our) fraternity.” Before the Kappas could even stomp a cane on the pavement, the “ice cold” men of Alpha Phi Alpha kicked off the event with an energetic dance. Yelling out calls, which sounded like that of a dog, the Omega Psi Phi men in gold boots with purple shirts made their mark on the pavement. With heads shaking full of attitude and sass, the women of Delta Sigma Theta sorority came onto the scene in unison to Iggy Aza-
lea’s “Fancy.” The clapping and knee stomping were choreographed so that the ladies would strategically switch dance leads with the beat of the song. Some of the fraternities and sororities would even call out to their sister or brother organization. The Kappas handed the ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho their own stepping canes with their colors gold and blue. Damion Jamison, a freshman psychology major, said this was his first time seeing the event. He also said seeing all of the African-American fraternities and sororities in one place meant unity and diversity in school. Jamison said he already knew about the NPHC being on Eastern’s campus and had in mind that he was going to join one of them. “I didn’t know anyone when I first came here, so it’s the best way to meet new people,” Jamison said. Roberto Hodge can be reached at 581-2812 or rlhodge@eiu.edu.
Presidential consultant visiting campus By: Debby Hernandez Administration Editor | @DEN_News President Search consultant David MeadFox will be coming to campus to listen to input from faculty, staff and students about the search for a new Eastern president. Faculty forums will be from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The open session for staff and students will be from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Both sessions will be in the Charleston/Mat-
toon Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. “The forums will serve as an opportunity for the consultant to know the Eastern community,” said Joseph Dively, the chair of the Eastern presidential search advisory committee. “This will be a very open process,” Dively said. “I encourage everyone to come and participate.” Helping in the search is an international executive search firm known as Korn Ferry, which contracted with Eastern’s Board of Trustees.
Dively said Korn Ferry’s practice is focused exclusively on higher education. Formulated by the Board of Trustees, the presidential search advisory committee is composed of 18 varied members that will be responsible for the search, determining the finalists and conducting the interviews. The Board of Trustees will be responsible for naming the next president. Debby Hernandez can be reached at 581-2812 or dhernandez5@eiu.edu.
Comedian Sinbad will be the main act at 8 p.m. Sept. 20 in the Lantz Arena for Eastern’s 2014 Family Weekend. Darius Francis, University Board chair said UB chose Sinbad as the entertainer with the hopes of drawing in a larger crowd of all ages. “People’s families as well as students know comedians, so it makes it more universal,” Francis said. “We knew it would be new, fresh and innovative to have a comedy show instead of a musical concert.” Melanie Kaderabek, UB vice-chair, said this is not the first time Eastern has hosted a comedian instead of a musical act. “We’ve done things like this before, for example, when Bill Cosby came a few years ago,” Kaderabek said. “So, it’s definitely something that we thought we could change up a bit.” Sinbad will also provide a change of events because Family Weekend typically features a musical act. “Typically we do a concert with a musical guest, but we thought it would be interesting to have a comedian come,” Francis said. “He’s still a really well-known, popular name and we wanted to spice it up a bit and do something new besides the standard concert.” Francis said that UB chose the entertainment this year by questioning the community. “We have a concert coordinator and Ceci Brinker, who is also a concert advisor, who look through various musical and comedy acts and we decided choosing a comedy act would be really great this year,” Francis said. “We also took student polls and asked people around the office what they thought. Despite speculation, UB has not changed their budget to accommodate the change in performance. “Because he’s more well-known, the budget is the same as what we always work with,” Kaderabek said. UB is not making budget cuts. “It’s not like we’re trying to cut back on money or anything like that,” Francis said. “It’s a pretty standard process whether it’s a comedian or a music show.” Sinbad is most widely known for his appearances in the movies “Jingle All The Way,” “Houseguest” and “Necessary Roughness.” He has also held starring roles in “A Different World” and “The Sinbad Show.” Most recently, Sinbad has appeared in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Celebrity Apprentice.” Tickets are being sold for $21 and can be purchased through the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Ticket Office. Francis said he expects it will be an exciting weekend, and the change will spark interest with more of the audience.
Samantha Middendorf can be reached at 581-2812 or semiddendorf@eiu.edu.