Stepping into controversy: Some fraternity members fear film ‘Stomp the Yard’ portrays them as glamorized dance group, trivializes traditions

Since the hit movie “Stomp the Yard” debuted in theaters earlier this month, Jay Blankenship has heard the same question for what feels like 1,000 times.

Everyone wants to know: “Can you step?”

Mr. Blankenship, an admissions counselor at Clemson University, belongs to Omega Psi Phi, a predominantly black fraternity similar to the one featured in the film.

“Stomp the Yard” tells the story of DJ, a youth who has made a name for himself as a street dancer, but retreats to a historically black university following his brother’s violent death.

While at Truth University, a fictional college campus set in Atlanta, DJ — played by young actor Columbus Short — is recruited by two fraternities and introduces his dance moves into their stepping routines.

Like some members of black fraternities all over the country, Mr. Blankenship is concerned that the movie overemphasizes the art of stepping, a coordinated series of stomps, claps and shouts that fraternities and sororities use to boast about their excellence and their traditions.

Certain steps and hand gestures are unique to individual Greek organizations, and are not allowed to be displayed by others. Stepping usually occurs a few times each semester, except for at charity events.

The movie’s title refers to the tradition of fraternities and sororities introducing new inductees by performing stepping on the “quad,” or a central area on campus.

To Mr. Blankenship, who is the basileus, or president, of the Kappa Gamma Gamma chapter of Omega Psi Phi, “Stomp the Yard” makes stepping appear to be the most important part of belonging to a black fraternity. There is much more to Greek life, he said.

“To be an Omega, you have to maintain a GPA of at least 2.7, you have to have earned 45 hours of community service and there is a financial obligation,” he said.

Like several of the movie’s critics, Mr. Blankenship has not yet seen the film. A few other black Greeks even have called for a boycott of the film, saying it trivializes the histories of their organizations by presenting them as glorified dance groups. In reality, black fraternities have produced such eminent members as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mary McLeod Bethune.

Tiffany Flowers, however, sees ways the movie can help encourage attendance at historically black colleges and universities.

Ms. Flowers, a lecturer at Clemson and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho, was the stepping coordinator for her chapter when she attended Virginia Commonwealth University, a historically black school.

“It (stepping) is just another avenue to get people attracted to sororities and fraternities, which will perhaps draw them to these schools,” Ms. Flowers said.

After potential pledges attend informational sessions about joining a Greek organization, they learn the requirements and the sorority or fraternity’s history and mission, she said.

She does hope that no one sees “Stomp the Yard” and leaves with the idea that dancing or stepping alone can get them into a sorority or fraternity.

Janessa Blanding, 14, is an eighth grader at Riverside Middle School and a member of the school’s step team.

She wants to attend a historically black college, join the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and step — but not just because of “Stomp the Yard.”

Janessa says the film reiterated for her the reasons several of her older family members have fond memories of their years at HBCUs.

Janessa attended Camp Essence, a summer girls’ camp in Pendleton, that uses stepping to teach discipline and hold attendees’ interest in learning.

“I love stepping,” Janessa said. “I like the beats, the movements and dancing.”

Shay Guyton, 14, also is on the Riverside step team.

“Stepping gets me hyped up, and all my friends are involved,” Shay said. “I liked the part in the movie where they were dancing and stepping, and they combined both styles together.”

On a recent visit to Clark Atlanta University, Shay decided she wanted to attend a predominantly black college because of the atmosphere. Seeing “Stomp the Yard” made her even more sure.

“It showed me how much fun they have, and how you can get involved in a lot of things,” Shay said. “I didn’t get the idea that (Greek life) is all about stepping, because when (DJ) got in trouble, he faced getting kicked out of the fraternity.”

For the record, Mr. Blankenship can indeed step.

Even so, he longs for a film that would portray Greek organizations on black campuses doing what they do most frequently — community service.

“We’re going out there and feeding the homeless, giving out thousands of dollars in scholarships and school supplies, and assisting the community,” he said. “On a college campus, that’s really what these organizations do.”