Students Stepping Out

UNC-Chapel Hill fraternity and sorority members stepped into the limelight Friday night at the annual Homecoming Step Show.

The competition filled the north end of the Smith Center with a mix of students, alumni and step fans.

At the evening's beginning, the official count at the gate was 950 people. But a steady stream of latecomers easily brought attendance to more than 1,000.

The step show was sponsored by UNC-CH's chapter of the National Pan Hellenic Council, an organization consisting of eight historically black UNC-CH fraternities and sororities.

The women representing Delta Sigma Theta sorority Inc. and the "Men in Black and Gold" of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Inc. won the 2002 first place honors.

Throughout the evening, there was plenty of action to engage an actively enthusiastic crowd.

Radio hosts Brian Dawson and Kat Summers, members of the WQOK K97.5 FM staff, ran the show.

Summers handled the microphone, introducing the competing groups and keeping the crowd laughing between performances.

While Summers helped keep things interesting during the breaks in competition, it was Dawson who really kept the party going.

Dawson played the latest hip hop and R&B during the short intermissions, which got the majority of the crowd members out of their seats and dancing.

The Smith Center doors opened at 6 p.m., and the step show kicked off shortly after 7 p.m. with the singing of the national anthem by the Harmonyx, a sub-group of the Black Student Movement.

Each performing step group brought a unique blend of music, dancing, costumes and moves.

Costumes ranged from suits to spandex, and group themes ranged from smooth class to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal."

Tickets to the event were $14 in advance and $17 at the door.

The step show brought young and old, Greek and non-Greek, students and alumni, and even some from out of town.

UNC-Wilmington senior Aaron Mitchell said that the festivities surrounding Halloween brought him to Chapel Hill for Thursday evening but that the step show kept him around for an extra night.

"I came here to party for Halloween but decided to stay a little longer," Mitchell said.

"I figured I couldn't pass this up if I was still in town. I'm glad I stayed."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.