Students from around the world boogied down in Old Union Hall for a Halloween-themed dance showcase Saturday night.
During the seventh annual Strolling for a Cause, eight cultural Greek organizations each performed a choreographed traditional dance that represented their organizations and cultures, referred to as a “stroll.” The dances were all synchronized to hip-hop or rap and the members participating wore matching shirts with their letters and names on them.
The Haitian Student Association (HASA) and Omega Phi Beta sorority (OPB) hosted the event to raise donations for MADRE, a women’s rights organization that conducts outreach projects worldwide. Specifically, HASA and OPB aimed to help benefit women in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. MADRE provides clean water, food, toiletries, peer counseling groups and education groups that give tips on staying safe.
Christel-Ann Augustin, the president of HASA and a senior double-majoring in psychology and health and wellness, said she wanted to help out struggling nations in a way students would find fun.
“OPB and HASA wanted to find a way to give back to the community because that’s what we like to do,” Augustin said. “This was the best way to donate money to Haiti and the DR.”
According to Augustin, she and OPB members asked various cultural fraternities and sororities on campus to participate in Strolling for a Cause because they wanted to create a stronger sense of community between the Greek organizations.
“Omega Phi Beta sorority asked us to participate in the beginning of the year,” said Kieran Brentz, a brother of Delta Epsilon Psi and a senior majoring in industrial engineering. “As soon as we found out in September, we began working to try to put something together. With everyone’s busy schedules, trying to coordinate with everyone and practice, we made sure we were putting on a show for people to enjoy themselves.”
Members of the Delta Epsilon Psi fraternity kicked off the event to Jeremih’s “Don’t Tell ‘Em” and wore white masks while dancing to enhance the eerie vibe.
Rasheed Thompson, a brother of Delta Epsilon Psi and a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience, said he thought this was a great way to reconnect with his cultural upbringing.
“I’m Jamaican so it’s more personal for me,” Thompson said. “I thought I should stroll something I enjoy for a good cause.”
Several other organizations followed, dancing to hip-hop intertwined with Halloween-themed sound effects like werewolf howls and witches’ laughs. The other organizations were MALIK, Lambda Sigma Upsilon, Sigma Psi Zeta, Sigma Iota Alpha, Lambda Upsilon Lambda and Iota Nu Delta.
Students who came to watch the show were asked for a recommended donation of $3, and the event raised $340 in total, with all proceeds went to funding the women’s shelters. Rosieva Ashong-Katai, a sophomore majoring in computer science, said she had fun at the event.
“I like seeing fraternities and sororities get together,” Ashong-Katai said. “There was a nice sense of brotherhood and sisterhood.”
Her favorite act was performed by sisters of OPB, who not only danced to Wiz Khalifa’s “Work Hard Play Hard,” but also dressed up in Skeleton morph-suits to put on a Halloween skit.
“Those girls really broke it down,” Ashong-Katai said. “It was cool to watch.”
Augustin said that the event was an overall success.
“It improves every year,” Augustin said. “We’re making it more diverse by getting other ethnicities to participate. We’re trying to make it bigger and better each time.”