Photos by Emily Blalock / Contributing Writer
Story by Emily Blalock and Danny-Shaw Remeta / Contributing Writer
The annual Stepping for a Cure competition took place inside Tucker Theater Monday night to raise money for St. Jude Research Hospital and The March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting for the health of mothers and babies. The stepping competition involved the MTSU Panhellenic Council and was organized by the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.
“The event benefits March of Dimes, and we do a (philanthropic event) every single year,” said D’eandre Bradley, political science major, senior and president of Phi Beta Sigma. “It’s not for us, it’ a fundraiser and we do it to be able to help support the community. When you see everything happen the way you want it to happen, it just makes you feel like you can do anything.”
Five sororities participated in the step competition. Each performance encompassed its own theme and each was scored by a panel of judges. Alpha Chi Omega’s team had a “body shop” theme, Alpha Delta Pi encompassed a “freaks” theme, Alpha Omicron Pi’s theme proved to be “safari,” Kappa Delta’s performance had an “army” theme and Chi Omega’s team created a “jailhouse” theme. Each of the performances involved stepping, chanting, clapping and some even included some mild acrobatics. During the show’s intermission, audience members left their seats to sing and dance in the isles and on stage in spirit of the night’s energy.
A panel of four judges declared the first place sorority Alpha Chi Omega, with Alpha Delta Pi coming in second.
The audience chose Alpha Delta Pi the winner of the fan favorite award. There were buckets set up for the crowd to put change into to pick their favorite sorority, and the proceeds went to The March of Dimes.
There were concessions for sale in the front lobby, and a quarter of the profits were donated to The March of Dimes as well.
Grant Marshall, Organizational Communication major and Senior, described the event as one of the “most popular events on campus.”
“I came to watch my sister in the step show, she’s in Chi Omega,” said Ashlee Schwartz, attendee of the Stepping for a Cure competition. “I liked her performance the best but my second favorite would have to be the freaks. I’m not sure which sorority that was but I liked it a lot.”
Organizational Communications major Janice Robinson is a senior in Alpha Chi Omega. She said they had been putting their routine together and practicing since the beginning of November. And considering her sorority claimed first place, the time put into this event deemed worthy.
If you missed MTSU’s Stepping for a Cure, view a full gallery below.
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