In celebration of their 20 years of existence on Loyola’s campus, the current Rho Epsilon chapter members of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc., Brian Dirden, mass communication junior, and Lyle Hunter, marketing junior, organized Alpha week (Nov. 10- Nov. 15), which consisted of a series of events for students around campus to attend.

Nov. 10, 1988 sparked the Alpha tradition of brotherhood, leadership, humanity and most importantly scholarship among a group of 7 African American men which paved the way for the Rho Epsilon chapter of the historically black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc., founded in 1906.
“Through Alpha week we wanted to show people that we are on campus and allow people to enjoy themselves,” Dirden said. “We hope people are inspired not only by the step show but through the community service we put on, through our works around campus, the activities we are involved in and the way we carry ourselves.”

Each individual event expressed a certain quality or aspect of Alpha Phi Alpha. The events that occurred during Alpha week included a dinner with alumni from the Rho Epsilon chapter, a program called “Frozen Desire,” where the members of the fraternity cater solely to the women on campus, and a church service held in the Ignatius Chapel that began the week. Other events included the Ms. Black and Gold pageant, a scholarship pageant, and a community service project to help New Orleans.

What stood out during the week according to Hunter and Dirden was the Alpha Phi Alpha step show that was held in the Residential Quad Nov. 11. The step show began at exactly 7:36 p.m., the six signifying the year the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was founded, with Dirden and Hunter performing a step (a mixture of simultaneous hand and foot movements) from their probate, the time when pledges declare themselves to a particular fraternity or sorority.

From there six Alpha members, who graduated from 1999 to the present, paraded out to T.I.’s “What You Know,” and DJ Unk’s “Walk It Out,” songs that were popular during the years  they did their probate. The Alpha alums joined Dirden and Hunter to form a step line, providing an old school meets new school feel to show how stepping has changed throughout the years.
Each  alumni  showcased a certain step that they did during their probate as the other members observed. They then all joined in together in a sequence of moves from past step shows.
“I thought it was a great show,” Samuel Phillips music industry studies junior, said. “It was entertaining and there was a nice turnout, not just from an African American standpoint, but the people in the crowd were very diverse.”

Jonuel Hernandez, business management freshman, said, “I had never seen a step show before so this show was actually my first. It was extremely interesting, and I thought that it was a really creative idea how the new school Alphas brought back the old school Alphas to join them in the step line.”

Dirden said he thought that bringing out some Alumni from the Rho Epsilon chapter was important to the show.

“It was significant to rekindle that spirit with our alumni brothers; just getting them to relive that probate experience by stepping with us proves that people who graduated before us are still around and involved in the community and Loyola,” Dirden said.

The audience consisted of older Alpha members as well as other fraternities and
sororities from the National Pan-Hellenic Council such as Alpha Kappa Alpha, Omega Psi Phi, Kappa Alpha Psi and Phi Beta Sigma showed their support for their fellow black fraternity.
Jerry Gosin, A’ 07 and Alpha Phi Alpha member, said he attended the show because “it’s always love, man. It’s celebrating the brotherhood and our 20th year anniversary. The concept of brotherhood is something that draws people to the organization. It sounds cliché but everyone is
connected through these letters.”

Hunter said, “I feel Loyola is really falling off because there is not much to do around here. I think we were able to provide an atmosphere for people to have a good time without the negative aspects of alcohol or any altercations.”

And that positive atmosphere carried on to end the week with a community service project at Cabrini High School where the Alphas helped to dispel perceived stereotypes between the black and Hispanic communities in New Orleans.

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected].