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.