Stomping the Yard at RU

Many people have seen and have grown to love the movie Stomp the Yard.  It is one of my personal favorites, because I feel strong empathy towards the main character.  He is a lot like myself and handles situations a lot like I would myself.

According to  http://www.starpulse.com/Movies/Stomp_the_Yard/Summary/ the story is about a young man who finds that the moves he learned on the street may help him make a better life for himself in this youth-oriented musical drama. DJ Williams (Columbus Short) is a 19-year-old growing up in Los Angeles; while DJ is at heart a good kid and a gifted street dancer, he runs with a dangerous crowd, and one night an underground dance competition turns into a brawl and DJ ends up in jail. DJ's younger brother has already died a violent death, and his mother, hoping to put him back on the straight and narrow, sends DJ off to Truth University, a historically African-American college in Atlanta. At first, DJ feels like a misfit at Truth, but when he gets a chance to show off his dancing skills, he attracts the attention of two campus fraternities. Greek life is a major presence at Truth, and each year the fraternities take part in a "stepping" competition, in which the members show off their synchronized dance moves. DJ joins the ONO house, and is eager to help them take the championship away from their campus rivals, but in time he also comes to understand the brotherhood and community service that's a key part of his fraternity's background. DJ also has more on his mind than dancing and studying when he meets April (Meagan Good), a beautiful coed. Produced under the title Steppin', Stomp the Yard also stars Ne-Yo, Brian J. White, and Jermaine Williams.

I love this movie because it shows how under the worst circumstances if you put your mind to it you can accomplish great things.  The young man in the movie grew up in a rough neighborhood that reminds me much of my own neighborhood.  It is extremely tough to rise up above your surroundings when it is was seems to be the "norm". Most people that grow up in bad neighborhoods only know the life that they have been living and do not know that anything else exists.  Like this boy I was lucky to have parents who cared for me enough  to push me to be the best I could be.  It was not always easy being the kid who did his homework while everyone else in the neighborhood was out partying and hanging out.  It was also hard to stay out of trouble because in rough neighborhoods trouble always seems to find you.  There were a couple of times my brother and I got into fights with gang members on our way to the local library.  Life was hard but we had good roe-models we could look up and they helped us get to where we are today.  Orientation Leaders may be the only roe-models the first-year students have and it is up to us to lead by example and make sure everyone feels welcome at Rutgers. There may be many students that are coming to Rutgers that may come from a rough background and we have to make sure we make them feel welcome as well.

The fraternities and sororities portrayed in the movie Stomp the Yard were based off of the Divine Nine organizations.  The Divine Nine are historically Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs).  These fraternities are rich in history and were setup to benefit educated Black people on their quest throughout college and in life.  They focus on brotherhood, sisterhood, and service to their communities.  I plan to join on of these organizations in order to be apart of a vast network that could help me acquire future jobs, and to have a group of brothers and sisters dedicated to helping me change my neighborhood in the near future. Many great men and women have become members of these organizations and have done great things which have paved the way for others to do the same.  One of the most notable members of a Divine Nine organization is Dr. Martin Luther King who was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha the first Divine Nine organization that was created in 1906. These organizations do a lot for students before and after college. The list goes from scholarships to future jobs and it is our duty to make sure first-year students and transfers know about these organizations that can help them feel like they are apart of a family.  Students need to know that although Rutgers is a big place that there are ways to make it smaller.

Even if students do not want to Stomp the Yard at Rutgers there are many other clubs and organizations that they can get involved in on and around campus, but it is our duty as Orientation Leaders to let them know about the wide variety of opportunities that are at their fingertips!

Here is what it looks like when Rutgers stomps the yard!

This event happens every year at our very own Rutgers New Brunswick Campus!