Shippensburg University’s Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) hosted its annual Step Show Saturday night. The event began at 7:30 p.m. and was hosted by JP Sakpeidah and Tamara Hightower.
Stepping is a series of synchronized movements and chants, demonstrating tradition and pride for fraternities and sororities. It is an expression of African American and Multicultural Greeks culture.
SU students were charged $5 for entry and those of the general public were charged $12. Large groups of students gathered in Memorial Auditorium for the show. Several performance groups, including SU Heritage Dance Co., Urban Flow and Elite Modeling, were set to take the stage.
Before the show began, a slideshow of several Greek Life organizations was displayed. One of these fraternities includes Alpha Beta Omega, the first local fraternity of color.
The event began with Diane L. Jefferson, Director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, stepping on stage and announcing MSA members who were nominated for Homecoming royalty, including Skylar Walder, Jarett Scott and Lyimide Shoyemi. These students made the Top 5 for Homecoming Royalty.
The first group to take the stage was Urban Flow, a creative dance group under MSA. The high energy performance hyped the crowd up, filling the auditorium with cheers.
Elite Modeling Troupe followed Urban Flow’s performance, enamoring the crowd as they strutted across the stage. SU Heritage Dancing Co. took the stage next, hyping up the crowd even more with their performance.
The final individual to perform was rising rapper Ayo Modd. The rapper encouraged students to join in the performance of his song, “Ayo Modd All love.” Large portions of the crowd turned on their flashlights, swaying with the song.
Following Ayo Modd, Marquis Lupton, an alumnus of Ship and On-Air Host/Producer for WITF, stepped on stage, initiating a Greek Life roll call. With each fraternity and sorority that was called, chants rang through the auditorium, earning cheers and applause.
After this, several fraternities and sororities including Alpha Phi Alpha, Omega Psi Phi, Sigma Gamma Rho and Phi Beta Sigma took to the stage, each having a different and unique stepping performance.
The night ended with the hosts encouraging the crowd to come towards the front of the auditorium. Students danced and sang with the hosts and several Greek Life members, ending the event on a particularly high note. The Step Show was one of the last Homecoming 2023 events, bringing students and alumni together for an energetic night.
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