Ivy LeafDeena Campbell 8:08 was the time; the William Pitt Union Ballroom was the place. The illustrious Iota chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated was at it again. But this time they were not gathered at Macedonia Baptist Church praising the Lord as they did the first day of their Skee- Week. Their Skee-Week featured an event each day from January 10 th -14 th that complimented their five targets: The Arts, Economics, The Black Family, Health and Education. Today the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha were celebrating the arts by showing the Pitt campus skin care at its finest. The festivities began with a bang as Pitt Students gathered at round tables anxious to discover proper pampering of the skin. But before anyone could begin, the first ladies started with an icebreaker where students could not only learn about themselves, but also about the prominent women of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Each student was given a name of a notable AKA and had to find another student holding the same name by only asking yes or no questions. Although the activity initially seemed tricky, the students found it to be effortless upon receiving names such as actress Phylicia Rashad and vocalist Alicia Keys. “The event allowed me to reach outside my comfort zone and meet people I never would have gone up to,” said junior, Lyndsay Niles. After fellowshipping with each other the students began decorating small green tins that would soon hold their skin care product. Pokka dots, flowers, and stripes, were some of the many designs used to beautify the tins. Once decorated, the small tins were quickly filled with the ingredients of oatmeal, water, and baking soda- a mixture that exfoliates while softening the skin. “The combination was so creative. I can't think of any other organization that has had an event that was so unique and resourceful,” said junior, Lee-Ann Foster. But just showing how to make a facial exfoliant wasn't enough; the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha concluded the event by also giving skin care checklists to insure that students left knowing the appropriate way to maintain their skin. In the end, “Crafting 1908” successfully celebrated the Arts, a feature target of the first black sorority, and also contributed to the quality of life on campus. Jasmin Dobson On January 11, 2005, the Illustrious Iota Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority Incorporated hosted a financial seminar with PNC Bank. Two representatives from PNC led the seminar, which was aimed at helping students manage their finances to avoid debt and poverty. The event took place in the William Pitt Union Ballroom at 6 p.m. The entire seminar was interactive, with the speakers allowing everyone to ask questions pertaining to credit cards, investing, budgeting, and most importantly, managing debt. Everyone in attendance, including Iota members, took the opportunity to ask their own personal financial question. Brittainy Donnell overwhelmed the presenters with a question about overdraft protection. “I've learned from personal experience that getting overdraft charges can get you in a lot of trouble,” Donnell said. The representatives mentioned that, “Students must get all consumer debt paid off as soon as possible”. The representatives also warned students that consumer debt is the worst kind of debt. Almost all college students fall victim to it, because they are constantly spending money on clothing, music, food, and other things. As a solution to this evident problem they stressed that as college students, the most important thing is to keep a balance on credit cards, while building good credit that will be beneficial in the future. At the conclusion of the seminar the representatives handed out several books and pamphlets on credit, investing, saving, and managing debt. Several students stayed afterwards to ask more one-on-one questions with the PNC representatives. The event was a tremendous success. Most students appeared to leave with a better understanding of how to manage their finances on a daily basis. Lauren Williams It is a commonly known fact, that television is one of the most popular forms of media in American society. But the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, known as trailblazers and innovators, delved into this medium a little deeper to find its lasting effects, by looking at the Cosby Show and other urban prime time shows. The ladies and their attendees questioned the validity of each respective depiction of the 'black family' in the Wednesday event, "The Black Family Through the Camera Lens: Does Prime Time Reflect Our Time?" The itinerary for Iota's Wednesday program featured an episode of "The Cosby Show," a discussion on Bill Cosby's recent speech at the Anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of education, and a culminating discussion of the definition of the black family. Attendees tackled questions of how it varies from place to place, how it changes over time, and how the media has affected it. After viewing the episode, program coordinator Lauren Evette Williams split the audience into three groups, giving them quotations from the Bill Cosby speech to jumpstart dialogue. They were to compare this to what they see in the media (i.e. the show they just saw) and decide what modern issues affect today's black family. Williams explained that the speech had been controversial within the black community because of how harshly Cosby criticized his community. "With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap, and all of them are in jail," Cosby continued, "Brown versus the Board of Education is no longer a white person's problem. We have got to take the neighborhood back." Cosby also went on to say, "Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids – $500 sneakers for what? And won't spend $200 for 'Hooked on Phonics.'” Though the "Cosby Show" is known for its ability to transcend racial boundaries as a representation of the black family, many groups did not favor its depiction. Seeing this, Williams' opened the floor for open discussion. "Family values aren't really getting passed down," said Angelina Riley, a graduate student from Carnegie Mellon University . Another audience member, Pitt freshman Jennifer Blemur, felt the most pressing issue was the conflict between what young people perceive in the media and how they perceive their actual families as well. "It's about perpetuating this image of what a 'baller' is," Blemur said. Justine Wilmot, a Pitt senior, said, “People know right from wrong.” She continued. “We need to do something better with our lives," Wilmot said. Whether it was meant in the harsh way that Bill Cosby said it, or not, many attendees saw inherent issues in the black family, similar to that faced by cultural groups/units. Williams' urged her attendees to takenotes and personally decide how they could effect change in the black family and in their own personal circles and communities. It proved to be a very well needed discussion as audience members still lingered to speak about personal concerns and thoughts. Rose S. Afriyie After a greeting by Deena Campbell and offering of their signature refreshments of pink lemonade, sorority members and attendees viewed a film of Zydeco music, lively parties and 1962-Louisiana Voodoo. Starring fellow sorority member Lynn Whitfield, and produced by Samuel L. Jackson, Eve's Bayou, the central setting of the movie, is a community so named after a slave that saved the life of a white planter with her medicinal powers and as her reward was set free. The movie is told in a retrospective account from the adult Eve who narrates the movie while featuring the talents of 10-year old Eve in Jurnee Smoillet through a 2-hour flashback. A coming of age story that illustrates the capabilities of voodoo, Eve's Bayou, carried the message of mysticism that spoke to the evolution of medicinal practices and its roots in Black Health. At the end of the movie Rose S. Afriyie led a discussion where attendees participated in a Q&A session on the literary elements and the issues that ail the African American community. Participants were extremely active in a discussion that centered on Cicely, older sister to Eve that was played by Meagan Goode, and evidence of her alleged Elektra Complex. The discussion also went into great length about the history of voodoo and the validity of its role in alternative medicine, as many attendees gave several anecdotes about grandmother's home remedies. After an hour of this forum on Black Health, Deena Campbell closed the discussion with a brief word on positive and negative images of Blackness in film. Jasmin Dobson Intro, intro, intro, introducing- were the chants heard by the students at Frick International Studies Academy , and the lovely ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated's Iota chapter. On Friday, January 14, 2005, the ladies of the Iota Chapter along with a few volunteers from the University of Pittsburgh spent their morning working with young ladies at Frick International Studies Academy. Focusing on the target of education, this event ended the Iota chapter's Skee-Week At Frick Elementary, Iota members taught a group of young girls the history of stepping in the African-American community, and its importance to historically black sororities and fraternities. The event began with comments from Charis Jones. Jones gave a detailed analysis of stepping including its origins, significance, and how the act of keeping rhythm, an important element of stepping, can be connected to African roots. She stressed the fact that although stepping may have started in the United States with members of fraternities and sororities, through the years, it has been enhanced with adding historically African components along with military syncopation. After the brief history lesson, the Iota chapter members took the young ladies into the Frick gymnasium to demonstrate an Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated original step. Rose S. Afriyie taught and led her Introduction step, which allowed everyone to step in a circle, while chanting her name and astrological sign. The step allowed the Iota members to learn the names of all of the young ladies. The young ladies were also given a chance to teach the Iota members a few steps that they know. The event ended with giving hugs to new friends, and plans of sharing more steps in the future.
For more information on the Iota Chapter, please visit www.pitt.edu/~akaiota .
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