The Seton Hall Kappa Eta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) hosted the Stomp the Hall Step Show during Hall Homecoming weekend from Nov. 1-3.
Students represented their respective Greek organizations on campus and competed in a step show, which is a “historical form of communication and storytelling that is widely performed by fraternities and sororities that belong to the National Pan-Hellenic Council,” according to Baylor University.
One of the performances of the night featured Caleb Jones, a junior majoring in finance and technology (FinTech) and sports management, and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Jones said the event aimed to showcase the NPHC organizations, which are referred to as the “Divine Nine,” on campus.
“I think the event displays [the] true culture of African American Greek organizations through the steps themselves,” Jones said. “Stepping could even be considered a lost tradition amongst our [organizations]. I think by bringing it back we’re showcasing a piece of not only Greek culture but black history overall.”
Another student who took part in the event was Josalyn Treadwell, a junior business management and law major and a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Treadwell won the competition and despite her victory, she said that winning was not the only special factor attached to the event for her.
“I think the fact that this was held on homecoming weekend was special because it felt like for the first time, Black and minority students had our own special part in conducting homecoming weekend,” Treadwell said.
This year was the first time the event has ever been held at Seton Hall.
Donovan Thomas, a senior marketing major, shared his experience as a spectator.
“I usually go to different HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) homecomings because our school is a PWI (Predominately White Institution) and doesn’t really offer the same homecoming experience,” Thomas said. “So I was immediately interested in attending an event like this because this is the first time in my college experience that Seton Hall has had something like this on campus.”
Thomas said his favorite part of the event was not only seeing how many people participated in the show, but also seeing how many students, alumni, faculty, and family members came out to support.
Two members of the Kappa Eta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Jahi Bazin, a senior marketing major, and Zachary Edwards, a senior diplomacy and Asian studies major, said they were ecstatic about the event’s overall turnout.
“Our overall purpose in the event was to bring back the tradition of true stepping. We wanted to showcase more of the stepping aspect of Greek culture [as] opposed to strolling which is seen more often. It’s also important that we distinguish the two because they are not the same,” said Edwards.
Bazin said that this wasn’t the first time Seton Hall has hosted a step show.
“The last annual step show that was held here dates all the way back to the late ‘80s,” Bazin said. “It’s something that we upheld highly and it’s been so long that we knew we had to bring it back.”
This made watching the performances all the more impactful to them.
Edwards said his favorite performance was that of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
“I really enjoyed their theme and just the overall creativity of their performance,” Edwards said. “I’d say though I also enjoyed the Zeta’s performance; it really was a close call, and I think the Delta’s performance really encapsulated the essence of the enthusiasm of stepping.”
Disclaimer: This article was published later due to scheduling issues. Thank you for your patience.
McKayla Watkins is a writer for The Setonian’s Campus Life section. She can be reached at mckayla.watkins@student.shu.edu.
