To the chapters of the Historically Black and White Greek Sororities and Fraternities on campus, strolling means unity. As part of homecoming week on campus, the Greek Life organizations worked side-by-side to put on a step show to display the love and community they have with each other. Even though it was a competition, each member from each group showed excitement and encouragement.
“The whole purpose of the event is for both sides to come together as one and to feel like a family,” said Chris Williams, the coordinator of Greek Life. “Greek Unity left on campus a couple years ago, so I wanted to bring it back as a family orientated event.”
Altogether there were 14 combined sororities and fraternities that were grouped to perform dances, steps, strolls and chants. The sorority that won the group competition was the Delta Sigma Theta and Kappa Delta. The fraternity that won was the Alpha Phi Alpha and the Delta Sigma Phi.
Delta Sigma Theta and Kappa Delta wore candy-colored tops with faded blue jean shirts tied around their waists while getting down to songs like “Aero” by Tisakorean. The Alpha Phi Alpha and Delta Sigma Phi flaunted their 1990s-theme attire and formed a metachronal sensual body wave to ‘90s R&B music.
Preparing for this occasion was not easy for some of the chapters. Learning and remembering the routine was somewhat difficult.
“I practiced with the group in four one-hour sessions days before the show,” said Nishant Shresta, a Delta Sigma Phi member. “We all wanted to show the ULM community that we wanted to have a good time, no matter what happens.”
The crowd was filled with dozens of students and parents eager to see fraternities and sororities show off an explosion of dance moves.
“My favorite part was when Delta Sigma Phi and Alpha Phi Alpha performed because they used more than one old school song to perform to and really seemed like they enjoyed performing together,” said Jasmine Brown, a junior toxicology major.
The support among the chapters was so strong that they cheered louder for the members who were stepping than the people in the audience.
“It’s about putting two different worlds together and letting them have fun,” Williams said.