JMU Dukes and friends step into spirit with ICGC

Fraternities and sororities of the Intercultural Greek Council (ICGC) stepped into spirit with stomps and shouts that echoed around the Atlantic Union Bank Center (AUBC) on November 6. They tore down barriers and built on past traditions to make an inclusive, exciting and all-around spectacular Stompmania show.

The event was organized by the Center for Multicultural Student Services and participants were from several different Virginia universities. The University Program Board assisted by bringing in guest host Darren Brand from the MTV show, Wild ‘N Out. Hilariously quick-witted, Brand introduced each group and was greeted with roaring laughter from the energetic crowd. The ICGC groups stomped and stepped in unique routines, filling the AUBC with the vibrating sound of their boots on the stage.

“I’ve attended this event for years at Homecoming,” said Vice President for Student Affairs at JMU, Dr. Tim Miller. “I was excited to come back and be in this place. I always love the different themes each group comes up with and the different steps they come up with. Every year there’s some new thing people have done that we’ve never seen before.”

For others as well, the event means friends, traditions and a good time. “I’m not new to Stompmania,” said Jasmine Rountree ('14), member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. “I’ve been to it through my undergraduate years. It was nostalgic.”

The performers of each fraternity and sorority created an atmosphere of excitement, and by the end of the show, most of the attendees in the floor seats were up and dancing along. “Once you’re on stage it’s like you don’t even have to think,” said Michael Andrews, a junior at UVA, and member of the Zeta Eta chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. “I could tell just looking offstage that everybody had fun.”

At the end, several awards were presented to the performers, fraternity and sorority members. Attendees mingled at the bottom of the stage, the last shouts and stomps still bouncing around the room. “Everybody went out there and did their best,” Andrews said. “I know a lot of time and preparation went into this and I know everybody had fun.”