As one of the closing events for Auburn University’s Omnicron Kappa chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s “Alpha Week”, they hosted they annual Stroll Like an Alpha (SLAA) Competition. Once a year the OK Brothers divide into team where they allow young ladies to learn their traditional strolls and perform them in front of a crowd. This year’s winning team was BLACKPRINT. After the event, HC Auburn got to interview them and discuss what an amazing time they had during this year’s event!
Team Name: #BLACKPRINT
Team Members: Breeana Snowball, Carynna McCoy, DeMiya Roberson, Erika Sankey, Jamaya Jones, Jamila Murchison, Joniya Bedgood, Leigh White, Noelle Lucas
Team Captains (Alphas): Justin Trotter(Yncredible Hulk), Ced Ellis(Hustle-N-Flow), Shakeem Peynado(ClassiPHIed)
How do you guys feel about winning? The feeling is unbelievable!!!! With all the long hours of practicing and the immense amount of effort we put in, it’s just a great feeling to know that all of it resulted in with a big win!
How many days and for how long did you guys practice each week? We would meet up for at least 4 days out of the week for about 2 hours. Some days would be longer once we got to the complicated steps of the routine.
How did you guys come up with the team name? It’s actually funny how we came up with the team name because it was a last minute decision. Someone brought it up during one practice when we were deciding on names. We didn’t really think it was a good decision at the time, but as we came closer to the competition date; we found a way to make it work. The team name was originated from the word “blueprint”. As we all know, a blueprint is an example to follow. As a team, we had already stamped ourselves as the best in the competition and we claimed that we would lead by example. We also thought it would be creative if we changed blue to black, because of the color of our outfits. Therefore, we created our team name, #BLACKPRINT: “They needed an example to follow”.
(To the Girls) What were a couple of reasons you wanted to participate in Stroll Like An Alpha this year? The main reason we wanted to participate in Stroll Like an Alpha is because we wanted to get out of our comfort zone. We all thought it would be scary to take a chance and do something new, but now we know that you will never know unless you try.
How have you guys grown throughout this experience? We have all became very close friends now! We all go out together, hang with each other; We have built a close friendship almost like a family.
What was everyone’s favorite routine? Our favorite routine was our final stroll to end our routine we called it “10 Bands”. It was our favorite because the captains and the team members joined in as well and made it one big performance. The reaction from the crowd was great too.
(To the Alphas) Are you guys already planning for bigger and better for Stroll Like an Alpha 2016? Yes of course we are!!!! Although, it is not guaranteed that we will do the same events during our Alpha Week next year, we are definitely taking all comments and criticism from this year’s event and thinking about how we can continue to make it better. We truly try to make this event one that is fun for the participants! The competition aspect is the drive that the Brothers of Omicron Kappa use to incorporate a sense of community among all participants.Next year’s event will have many new faces and we may try to tweak a few rules to encourage diversity amongst teams.
Congratulations on the win! BlackPrint did an amazing job along with the 4 others teams: Dipped In Gold, Venom, Cold Blooded, and ParadICE. All the of the participants put in major work! Ape faces were definitely on fleek!