The Daily Campus

Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Ed Ryan Clubs and organizations put on impressive step dances at a very entertaining evening in Jorgensen Friday night.

The best word one can use to describe the atmosphere in Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Friday night is electric.

Music was blasting, courtesy of DJ Jimmy Jam, as hundreds of students piled into the venue for the second annual NPHC step show.

"I'm excited to see the groups tonight," said Shawn Corapi, a 6th-semester political science major. "I've never been to something like this before."

The step show showcased members of the "divine nine" organizations composing the National Pan Hellenic Council, as well as members from other student organizations including the students from Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), the UConn All-Stars and Pivotal Motion.

"The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) was founded in 1930 and governs the historically African-American fraternities and sororities," said Todd Sullivan, the director of fraternity and sorority life at UConn. "The 'Divine Nine' (four sororities and five fraternities) have all had a historical presence at UConn. Currently, six of the nine have active undergraduate chapters here and make up the local NPHC."

The judges for the evening consisted of one member from each of the NPHC organizations. The grand prize? $1000 to the winning fraternity and sorority, as well as a $500 to the second place teams.

The winners for the evening were Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. In second place were Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Harold Cooper, the step master for Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. and a 3rd-year graduate student studying medicinal chemistry, said that stepping is more than just dancing for him and his fraternity brothers.

"I'm not nervous about it, I'm anxious sort of, but I've done it before," said Cooper. "We've stepped at other schools, universities, arenas … I love it."

The night, kicked off with Will Jones, a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and president of the NPHC and Kim Roberts, a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and vice president for NPHC, welcomed students and Greek alumni to the show.

First up was the SCSU group, wearing all black. The group performed a variety of tribute steps paying tribute to a variety of NPHC organizations.

Continued...

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