Thursday, September 9, 2010
greek life
HONOR STEPPING TRADITION UNITY
Campus, B3
Photos by Emily Adams / PHOTO EDITOR Story by Derek Lacey / ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR
Christopher Love, John Dansby, Jeremy Foster, Anthony Wells and Chris Neal of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. warm up before the Unity Yard Show.
Joshua Agee, junior in graphic design, sports his glasses and tie as he leads the line while stepping with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. outside the Student Center.
NPHC HOSTS STEPPING SHOW TO PROMOTE UNITY AMONG AU STUDENTS
Spectators sit on the stairs in front of the Student Center to watch fraternities perform at the Unity Yard Show.
Mario Jones of the Sigma Delta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. steps with members of his fraternity.
Most students know stepping as just another kind of performance art. But to the students who perform, it is a cherished tradition, much like rolling Toomer’s Corner or dodging the Auburn seal when walking in front of Langdon Hall. “Stepping is a rich tradition of all the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations,” said Reynard Butler, current Polemarch of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. The Unity Yard Show, an event held by the Auburn University Black Student Union, included stepping performances and was intended to promote unity among the Auburn student body. Outside the Student
Center last Wednesday afternoon, the event drew a large crowd of students that encircled the steppers and climbed up the stairs on the concourse. “We worked really hard at it,” said Andre Hamilton, of Alpha Psi Alpha Fraternity Inc., “about three weeks to a month.” Hamilton said his organization’s involvement in the Unity Yard Show helped the Greek community grow closer and showed campus they are united. For Butler, stepping is a way to maintain tradition and help brothers bond and boost fraternity morale. “Stepping is a part of the very fabric of Kappa,” Butler said.
Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. show their support for the fraternities brothers and steppers at the Unity Yard Show on Wednesday afternoon.