The Union Activities Board hosted the Back to School Jam in the Witherspoon Cinema on Wednesday night to welcome students back from vacation and to introduce incoming freshmen to the black community on campus.
The event featured fraternities and sororities of the National Pan-Hellenic Council who rocked the stage performing their traditional rituals to blends of hip hop and gospel music. An estimated 500 people attended, making it a record-breaking turnout for the event that has been held since UAB was formed at NC State back in the ‘70s.
“The Jam is about letting freshmen know that they can be who they are and that they can find purpose here,” said Lamin Darboe, a junior studying agricultural science.
The Greeks blended traditional dance with spoken skits that highlighted their status on campus. The last performance of the night was by the “Ice Cold Brothers” of the Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. Fraternity who recounted the history of their founding, as well as notable members who had passed through their national ranks which included the first black NC State Student Body President Kevin Howell and the last ESPN reporter Stuart Scott who was a member of the UNC-Chapel Hill chapter, in between bursts of energetic dance with background vocals from the Uninhibited Praise Gospel Choir.*
As the event came to a close, the crowd joined in on the dancing.
UAB President Blaise Boleman said the Back to School Jam gives multicultural communities a place to celebrate and promote their culture.
*Technician originally reported that the late ESPN commentator, Stuart Scott, was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. Fraternity but didn’t clarify that he was a part of the UNC-Chapel Hill chapter.
Participants rushed onto the stage to dance at the end of the Back to School Jam. The event took place Wednesday, August 19, 2015 in the Witherspoon Cinema.
