Zeta Day '97 fosters interaction among African American Greeks

Throngs of students from throughout the region converged on Superblock Saturday to participate in the eighth annual Zeta Phi Beta celebration -- an event that featured music, dancing and interaction among the African American Greek community. Zeta Day began in fall 1990 to expose the University community to African American Greek life, as well as to kick off the new school year and welcome freshmen to campus. On Saturday, about 10 groups performed in the celebration's step show, a synchronized dancing performance. A disc jockey also played rap songs throughout the day, helping to create a relaxed atmosphere. Hats, backpacks, shirts and other items bearing the insignias of various Greek organizations were sold at nearby tables. The Superblock celebration was followed by a party at Houston Hall Saturday night. College senior Tiffany Hodge, president of Mu Iota, the Penn chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., said she was "really excited and happy that today's event was well attended," but said she didn't know exactly how many people attended this year's event. Last year's event attracted approximately 250 people. In addition to several of Penn's African American fraternities and sororities, many Greeks attended the event from other area schools. Larry Banks, a Drexel University junior and member of the Drexel chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., noted that this was the first year his fraternity was invited to the Penn campus celebration. Iota Phi Theta -- which was founded in 1963 at Morgan State University, a historically African American college near Baltimore -- currently has chapters at Drexel and Temple universities, but not at Penn. Banks noted that his organization's motto is building a tradition and not resting upon one. "We broke tradition and stepped here today," he said. During the celebration, Hodge called on all the fraternities and sororities to "give a shout out" over the microphone to their fellow Greek members. College senior Aria Anderson, president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. -- one of the four sororities present -- said Zeta Day achieved its goals of representing Greek life around Penn and displaying the "unity among black Greeks." She stressed that although the Penn chapter of Delta Sigma Theta boasts only two members, the sorority has about 200,000 members nationwide.