The J-TAC

Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: Campus Life

Media Credit: Courtesy: Alpha Phi Alpha Left to right; Tracie Hardin, Nicholas Rischer, Sammie Coplin, Kendrick Spencer and John Black celebrate their fraternal bond at an event held in the Thompson Student Center.

The Sigma Epsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha at Tarleton State University will be holding its ninth annual Ice Plex Greek Step Competition at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27, at the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center.

Tracie Hardin, Alpha Phi Alpha Vice President, said the show will be
something "anyone will enjoy. It will be entertaining; there will be music and company. It's a type of dance," he said, "stepping to a nice beat."

The show has been an annual tradition since the nineties; however, last year the Sigma Epsilon chapter did not have enough members to be an active fraternity on the Tarleton campus. The show had to be cancelled. This year Alpha Phi Alpha is active on campus and ready to restart the tradition. Hardin said that step shows are tied to the fraternity's history.

"Alpha Phi Alpha is about 100 years old, and a good 35 years of stepping. Maybe even 50 years. But a good 35 years it has been a big part of black fraternities and sororities," Hardin said.

The competition is open to any fraternity or sorority, but traditionally the majority of the competing groups have been from minority organizations.

Hardin said it started with "the Divine Nine: five black fraternities and four black sororities. It was a way for them to compete."

The deadline for entries is Oct. 3 and the event will be limited to the first nine groups that complete the application process. There will be a fraternity and sorority division, with a first place prize of $2,000 and a second place prize of $1,000 in both divisions. Hardin said they are still accepting applications.

"The groups that are signing up have a set routine and have been practicing all year, most of them have step teams in the fraternity or sorority," Hardin said.

Alpha Phi Alpha will start selling tickets the second week in October. Tickets to the show will be $10, an additional $5 will buy admission to the after-party. All Alpha Phi Alpha members will have tickets on hand if anyone misses the ticket booth located at the library.

Hardin has several goals for the Ice Plex this year, beyond entertainment.

"It's to get our name out, to fundraise and to show that there are minorities on campus. To show how black fraternities and sororities entertain. It's a chance for this campus to see black Greeks actually doing something," Hardin said.

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