Steps of Passage

While normal conversation was impossible in Alumni Hall, somehow the call and response of Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Kappa Alpha was heard above the crowd and the music. Gamma Eta, IU's chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, held its annual step show Saturday night. People swarmed in the doors when they opened shortly after 10:30 until they were closed after midnight because the room was over capacity.\nJason Lee, a junior and president of Alpha Phi Alpha, apologized for having to shut the doors. \n"There were just so many people there … there was nothing we could do."\nBefore the show began, people in the packed room danced and moved together. After one of the songs, DJ Freddy Fresh commented on how wonderful it was to see "a sea of black people united, doing the cha-cha slide."\nBefore the steppers could begin, the crowd had to be moved back about 20 feet. One of the older Alpha Phi Alpha members repeatedly asked the crowd to "please move expeditiously, so that the show can start." Members of Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Kappa Alpha were enlisted to join arms and move the crowd backwards.\nAs the four steppers took center floor, the crowd went wild. Cries of "Work it Brandon!" and the call and response rose above the mayhem, and the crowd could not be silenced. \nThe show began after midnight, and the room was still packed at 2 a.m., even after the dancers were done. Junior Marshawn Wolley, one of the steppers, was amazed at how quickly the show was over.\n"It went fast," he said. "It took longer when we practiced, but when we got out there, the adrenaline just kicked in."\nJunior Joel Githiri, another stepper, agreed.\n"I thought it went well," he said. "I was a nervous wreck, but I thought it went well."\nOther members of the fraternity also took part in the step show. \n"It was just us four stepping, but we incorporated other members during interludes," Lee explained.\nThe steppers worked on the show for more than two months, preparing for their initiation on Saturday. \nSophomore Brandon Williams, the fourth stepper, was satisfied with the show.\n"I'm more than happy with it," he said. "We put in a lot of work, and it paid off"