As part of Pan-Afrikan Week, the Black Student Board (BSB) and National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) hosted The Stroll Off — one of the largest and most anticipated Black events of this school year. On April 11, in Talley’s State Ballroom, several Divine 9 (D9) fraternities and sororities participated in a competition to determine who was the best at strolling.
The event consisted of Divine 9 organizations doing three rounds of strolls and competing for who could put together the best performance.
The significance of the event was felt especially by the students. Sidney Gandy, a second-year student studying nutrition said, “I think this is something very interesting and exciting, especially for this to be a PWI… I think that it is great that they’re having a showcase for their art.”
Gandy also talked about how the Divine 9 organizations are involved in community service groups on and off campus. She said, “I think it’s something really good, and aside from just being something that you have to work to get into. I wish there were more organizations like that on campus, working for change within our community.”
The show itself was full of energy from start to finish. It was a celebration of not only the Divine 9 fraternities and sororities but also of Black culture in general, from the music and dances to all the different fits.
The environment was reminiscent of a very large cookout with people singing “Love” by Keyshia Cole in unison and doing the dance to “Flex” by Cupid in the middle of the ballroom. The audience wasn’t just made up of students — alumni, graduate students and Divine 9 Greeks of a wide range of ages and locations showed up.
The show started with an excellent playlist from DJ SPiFF including R&B, hip-hop from TLC, Dababy and more. Alliyah Floyd, the Stroll Off ‘s host, led line dancing to get people out of their seats and energized. Once the energy died down a little, the lights dimmed, and the show began.
Each round had a different theme, and participants tailored the strolls to each theme. The overarching theme was “School Daze,” but there were some individual themes. The rounds got more competitive as the evening continued, ranging from acrobatics to choreography changes.
After many breaks, a lot of line-dancing and DJ SPiFF and Alliyah Floyd both taking a break to stroll themselves for Delta Sigma Theta and Sigma Phi Beta respectively, a winner was decided by the judges.
Delta Sigma Theta won on the sorority side, and Kappa Alpha Psi won on the fraternity side.
Although it was a competition, the event brought people together in a new and exciting way. Braxton Cumbo, a first-year studying technology engineering, said, “I feel like it was mad creative. Everybody did their thing. Everybody was thinking outside the box. It was a good event for the community. Everybody was really in there together.” Yasmin Lowry, a first-year studying contruction engineering, also expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “I like how everybody came together for the event,” and “I feel like that’s what it’s all about, bringing people together and the impact that it can serve on people.”
Not only was the Stroll Off a big show and an exciting competition for the crowd, but an event that brought people together.
Taron Brown, a second-year studying civil engineering, and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, said this when asked about what Greek life meant to him. He said that Greek life was about service, opportunity and bringing together the community. “Greek life is really like just a strong, close-knit organization with people. Like-minded people, we’re all one big family at the end of the day. So it really just helps to bring everyone together and give different people opportunities that they may have not had before.” He went further to say that part of the reason strolling is significant in the first place, besides the performance part, is that it unites Greek organizations around the world.
These events are especially important now due to the current political climate. With attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, or anything deemed to be related to them, events celebrating Black culture that create community are all the more important.