The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports & Michigan in Color
Friday, October 26, 2018 — 7

Originating from the African 
Gumboot 
dance 
that 
was 
performed in the mines of South 
Africa during apartheid, stepping 
has served as a form of self-
expression and liberation for years. 
Now seen in National Pan-Hellenic 
Council fraternities and sororities, 
stepping is a dynamic art form 
to display history and tradition 
through stomping, clapping and 
spoken word. Though related, 
stepping is not to be confused 
with strolling, which occurs when 
members line up and collectively 
dance to a song that is usually a 
trademark of that organization.
Step shows are one of the best 
ways to rally the Black community 
together 
and 
create 
a 
sense 
of belonging and identity for 
students at predominantly white 
institutions as well as historically 
black colleges and universities.
“Stepping and marching has 
history in Pan-Africanism and 
it connects us to our ancestors,” 
Public 
Health 
senior 
Jaren 

Kirkland, president of Omega Psi 
Phi, said. “For the community, the 
step show is representation. It’s an 
event for us, by us, and I think that 
large events like this are needed for 
the community to continue to be 
unified.”
At the University of Michigan, 
the Black population is slowly 
dwindling at its current 4.24 
percent as of Winter 2018, and the 
newly admitted freshman class 
has dipped below enrollment in 
previous years. Performances that 
highlight Black excellence and 
expression provide a safe haven for 
Black students who frequently face 
issues of underrepresentation and 
racial anxiety on college campuses. 
There’s 
something 
special 
about seeing the different Greek 
organizations embody their values 
and history conjoined by their 
sorors and brothers as they proudly 
display their organization’s colors 
and history.
Any Black person can appreciate 
step shows, whether they have 
a connection to National Pan-
Hellenic Council or not. There’s 
something electric about being in 
a room full of other Black people 
that’s brimming with the energy 

and excitement of watching the 
performances. Current students 
and alumni alike packed into 
the Michigan Theater Sunday 
night to celebrate the different 
fraternities and sororities. Alumni 
proudly represented their Greek 
organizations with their colors 
and symbols, singing and clapping 
along to their groups’ steps as they 
performed on stage for the 2018 
National 
Pan-Hellenic 
Council 
Step Show.
This year’s theme was the 
Divine Olympics. Each sorority 
and fraternity performed while 
incorporating 
elements 
of 
athleticism into their routine. 
Featuring humorous narrations 
for dramatized sport scenarios, the 
fraternities and sororities did not 
disappoint with both their acting 
and their sharp movements.
Sigma Gamma Rho opened 
the show with blue and gold 
cheerleader uniforms, and their 
excitement 
pulsed 
through 
the crowd for the remainder of 
the show. Their gold and blue 
boots dazzled across the stage 
with high kicks and stomps that 
vibrated 
through 
the 
theater. 
With tantalizing flips and tricks, 

they clearly were in their element; 
but perhaps the most memorable 
part was when they lined up with 
linked arms and did the Sigma 
Lean — a move so difficult that 
most sororities can’t hold. They 
killed it as the opening act.
The Sigmas performed next, 
surprising the crowd as the 
University campus does not see 
them step very often. With a soccer 
theme and comedic jabs through 
their performance, they were the 
best surprise of the night. Their 
exaggerated hair flips and poodle-
esque hand jives made no sorority 
safe from the Sigmas, as they 
seamlessly tied in a tight rhythm 
with their stomps and comedic hip 
grinds. Who doesn’t love seeing a 
dedicated pelvic thrust midway 
through a tight step routine?
Delta Sigma Theta ran with 
a baseball theme, stealing home 
base with their crimson and cream 
colors. Ingeniously, the Deltas 
incorporated the use of the runner 
of the bases to mimic each of the 
other sororities, and these allusions 
were not missed throughout their 
performance. Their steps were 
tight, and the reverberating sound 
of their stomps energized the 

crowd as they yelled out their calls. 
Overall, their creativity hit a home 
run.
Zeta Phi Beta followed up next 
with a dynamic basketball-themed 
routine, incorporating charismatic 
game-time energy and props into 
their 
movements. 
Their 
sleek 
shoulder rolls and exaggerated 
leaps got some of the most energetic 
crowd reactions. Even though their 
sorority had the smallest number of 
members performing, their routine 
effortlessly stole the spotlight and 
demanded the attention and praise 
of the audience.
Finally, Omega Psi Phi, or the 
Ques, took the stage with dark 
purple robes embroidered with 
gold and the audience fell silent. 
Brilliantly fusing Kung-Fu jumps 
and kicks with their trademark 
marches and hops, their creativity 
shone through their performance. 
From the staged fight scene with 
exaggerated groans to belting out 
in song that took the audience 
to church, they used the stage to 
their advantage. The coordination 
of their marches was brilliantly 
executed as they manipulated 
their bodies to create illusions that 
were mesmerizing to watch; their 

performance was a great way to 
end the night.
Ultimately, the winners of the 
Step Show were Delta Sigma Theta 
and Omega Psi Phi. Each winner 
received a trophy after being judged 
for their intricate routines, as well 
as proud audience reactions from 
all around the state of Michigan 
and beyond. Regardless of who 
took home the trophies, there was 
no doubt that every fraternity 
and sorority bristled with pride at 
the opportunity to be a part of a 
lineage of tradition for years and 
generations to come.
“The 
step 
show 
is 
about 
tradition,” Kirkland said. “We 
haven’t had a step show since 
March 2016, my freshman year, so 
the majority of campus has never 
seen one. For me to participate 
in the step show with the other 
Ques, it’s about continuing that 
tradition and sharing the aspects 
of Greek life that I fell in love with 
as a freshman in attempt to inspire 
those under me to continue the 
tradition.”
Hopefully, this will not be 
the last time that we see Black 
fraternities and sororities grace the 
stage of the Michigan Theater.

Ques, Deltas win 2018 NPHC Step Show

NA’KIA CHANNEY 
& LORNA BROWN
MiC Senior Editors

I don’t like Taylor Swift.
I think her songs are mostly 
overrated, I think she’s not 
particularly musically talented 
and I definitely think she’s 
benefited a lot from white 
female fragility in the pop 
culture scene. I think she’s 
problematic in a very typical-
white-female-pop-star 
kind 
of way where accusations of 
cultural 
appropriation 
and 
racism glide off her back because 
her public relations game is on 
point — she’s either America’s 

darling or a “bad bitch” who’s 
embraced the snake emoji a 
little too much on any given day.
So the straits must be dire 
when I, of all people, think 
that Taylor Swift is doing good 
things.
Taylor Swift opened the 2018 
American Music Awards with 
a grand performance of “I Did 
Something Bad” from her latest 
album 
Reputation, 
complete 
with fire blasts and her giant 
stage snake (it makes sense in 
context), to cheers and applause. 
Over the course of the evening, 
she won four awards: Best Tour, 
Best Pop/Rock Album, Best 
Pop/Rock Female Artist and 
Artist of the Year. In addition 

to the accolades, Swift broke 
the record for the AMA’s most 
awarded female artist with a 
total of 22 trophies.
While I’m not pleased that 
she defeated Whitney Houston’s 
record, I have to admit — 
Taylor Swift is popular. She 
has 112 million followers on 
Instagram. She has the privilege 
of an extremely wide-reaching 
platform with the ability to sway 
thoughts and opinions one way 
or the other. Taylor has been 
pretty on and off about using 
this ability, however. In 2017, she 
was named among the “Silence 
Breakers” in Time’s Person of 
the Year article for speaking out 
about her sexual assault. Earlier 

that 
year, 
however, 
Taylor 
Swift had come under fire for 
her 
Women’s 
March 
tweet 
where she supported the march 
but did not participate in it. She 
was a feminist when it benefited 
her, but not when it could lose 
her fans.
And 
how 
things 
have 
changed. 
Taylor 
Swift 
was 
rather infamously silent during 
the 2016 election cycle and now 
here she is, stealing the hearts 
of liberals everywhere with her 
endorsement 
of 
Democratic 
candidates 
in 
Tennessee 
in 
what is shaping up to be a rather 
critical election.
Maybe I’m being picky when 
I say that it might have been 
more helpful to post this on 
Instagram a bit earlier so her 
fans had more time to register. 
I also wouldn’t credit her with 

the last minute increase in 
voter registration when so many 

volunteers spent hours of work 

doing the same thing. But at this 
point, I don’t even care. Taylor 
Swift did something good.
The 
fact 
that 
carefully 
nonpartisan 
Taylor 
Swift 
is 
getting 
“political” 
is 
a 
testament to these turbulent 
times. People must participate 
in our democracy as much as 
they conceivably can. I believe 
it 
is 
especially 
important 
for celebrities — who aren’t 
obligated to use their platforms 
for these issues — to be political 
even at the expense of losing 
album sales.
For once, Taylor Swift and I 
are in agreement. I’m not about 
to start jamming out to her 
tunes, but on Nov. 6, I hope to 
see everyone at the polls. It’s 
what Taylor Swift would want 
you to do.

AKANKSHA SAHAY
MiC Blogger

TSwift did something good

The fact that 
carefully 
nonpartisan 
Taylor Swift is 
getting “political” 
is a testament to 
these turbulent 
times

What to do on Saturday
I 

keep 
thinking 
about 
Saturday, 
and I don’t 
know what 
to do with 
myself. For 
the last eight 
weeks, the 
Daily foot-
ball beat 
and I have been in a press 
box somewhere, watching the 
Michigan football team play.
We’ve seen the Wolver-
ines stumble in South Bend, 
we’ve seen this seven-game 
win streak, we’ve seen the 
Northwestern student body 
run across the field before the 
game and we’ve seen a light-
ning delay threaten our sanity 
in East Lansing.
But this week, Michigan 
has a bye, so I’ll be in Ann 
Arbor with no real itinerary. I 
assume most Wolverines fans 
are planning the off day, too, 
so I’m here to suggest some 
options.
Here are five good ways to 
spend your bye-week Saturday.
1. Mow your lawn
This first option is brought 
to you by my dad.
I don’t have a lawn to mow 
anymore, because I’m a boujee 
college student who lives in 
a college house that gets its 
lawn mowed by some service.
But I know that if I didn’t 
go to college and was still at 
home, my dad would ask me to 
mow our lawn, because there 
really isn’t an excuse not to.
I know what you’re think-
ing. It’s the fall and nobody 
will notice if your lawn gets 
a little out of hand before the 
snow starts falling. But I also 
know that you don’t really 
believe that, and you’re gonna 
have to mow or rake your lawn 
eventually, so why not throw a 
bag on that John Deere and do 
both at the same time?
2. Go to a cider mill

What a classic Michigan 
tradition. I haven’t been to 
a cider mill in several years 
now, but I’m strongly consid-
ering breaking 
that streak on 
Saturday.
The thing is 
that cider mills 
sound really 
great in princi-
ple but are kind 
of underwhelm-
ing in person. 
I don’t know if 
that’s a hot take. 
Maybe I’ll get 
scolded for this.
You drive to the cider mill, 
the foliage is beautiful, you 
can’t wait to get your hands on 
a nice, warm, flaky donut and 

some apple cider, but then you 
get there and it’s 40 degrees 
and windy, and really all you 
want to do is get back in the 
car right away.
If it was a 
gameday Sat-
urday, I would 
think you were 
insane to con-
sider going to a 
cider mill and 
skipping foot-
ball, but you’ve 
got to go once 
this year, and 
the bye week 
seems like as 
good a time as any to make the 
trip.
3. Visit your parents
They miss you. Stop tell-

ing yourself that a phone 
call is enough. They’d love to 
cook you a meal and ask you 
about your job or love life or 
children or 
whatever your 
situation might 
be.
Most Satur-
days, if you’re 
weighing a visit 
to your parents 
against sitting 
and watching 
football, you 
would almost 
certainly take 
the latter. But 
the bye week is a perfect time 
to get that visit in so you feel 
good about yourself when you 
don’t see them again for the 

final, four-week home stretch 
of the football season.
4. Go see “A Star is Born”
This is my favorite option. 
I’ve heard noth-
ing but Oscar 
hype for this 
movie. Lady 
Gaga is appar-
ently incredible, 
Bradley Cooper 
is believable and 
the soundtrack 
is stacked.
Okay, also 
it’s supposed to 
be heartbreak-
ingly sad, but 
the movie theatre is dark and 
nobody will blame you for cry-
ing. Also, you probably haven’t 
had a good cry in a while, and 

it’s good to get those emotions 
out.
This also checks a box for 
when the Oscars come around. 
Every year, you have to watch 
at least one movie that gets 
some nominations. That way 
you can sound smart when you 
comment, ‘Oh, yeah, I saw that 
movie, and the two lead actors 
were good and so was the 
supporting cast and also the 
music was great.’
What more could you ask 
for?
5. Stay in, do nothing and 
watch football
You’re going to do it any-
ways, because you love watch-
ing football. If you didn’t love 
watching football, then why 
did you watch that ridiculous 
game on Saturday? Why, when 
there was an hour-and-a-half 
lightning delay, did you not 
think, ‘You know what? I’m 
going to find something pro-
ductive to do instead of wait-
ing for Gus Johnson to return 
to my television and start yell-
ing at me again.’
But you didn’t do that, did 
you? You sat and waited like 
everybody else. So just give 
in to your feelings and watch 
that Michigan State – Purdue 
game or the World’s Larg-
est Cocktail Party between 
Georgia and Florida in Jack-
sonville.
Personally, I’ve got my eyes 
on Wisconsin – Northwestern, 
because I believe the Wildcats 
are somehow going to win the 
Big Ten West with like a 7-5 
record. That will be electric.
So just watch football. 
Something cool will happen, 
I’m sure, and you know you 
don’t want to miss it. There is 
no bye week for football fans.
See you on the couch.

Persak can be reached 

at mdpers@umich.edu, on 

Twitter at @MikeDPersak or 

on Venmo at @Mike-Persak.

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
The Michigan football team is entering a bye week after notching a 21-7 win over Michigan State last weekend in East Lansing, advancing to 7-1 on the season.

MIKE
PERSAK

Here are five 
good ways to 
spend your bye-
week Saturday.

There is 
no bye week 
for football 
fans. 

