Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The 7 D.E.P. Chronicles: The Revolution...

*Juke leans back in his chair, with a glass of Welch's Grape juice and the sounds of "Triumph" by Wu-Tang filling the air from the radio.

One of the darker periods of my undergraduate chapter's history was the suspension that was imposed in the Fall of 2003.  Due to some allegations of hazing, the chapter was stripped of activities for two years, which is essentially a death sentence for most chapters in terms of reputation and presence on campus.

Notice I said most.  Delta Delta bruhs are like Bebe's kids...we don't die.

That sets the scene for this installment.  Whenever a chapter is suspended at Albany State University, the custom is to build a black, wooden box over the plot as a symbol of both shame and to let the campus know that the organization is inactive.  It was a sad day when we walked on campus and saw the black box being built over our plot.  It was enough to move us to tears...briefly.

Students came by the plot, and they were all buzzing about the black box.  Some people were sad to see us off the yard.  Some of the students cracked jokes.  But ultimately, we were all the center of negative attention, and this was not the image we felt was true to our efforts and deeds on the campus and in the community. 

What followed would be the type of shenanigans that no one but 7 D.E.P. could display...

Just Because There is a Box...

...doesn't mean you can't use the plot.  In a loophole that was much to the chagrin of the administration on campus, suspended organizations were never told that they couldn't still use their plots, only that the plots would be covered.  HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE....<-----DEVIOUS LAUGH

The next week, we all went to the plot.  After a quick minute to breathe and get up the courage, I climbed onto the box over our plot.  As I climbed up, the campus began to take note that something was happening at the Alpha plot.  I began the stepshow that we had performed two years prior, and suddenly, the spirit of the campus began to grow and move in line with our plight.  It was the spirit of defiance...the spirit of uprising...the spirit of pure ignorance and silliness.  Before long, five of us were on the box, performing for the campus and reminding the student body that suspension doesn't have to equal death.  It simply means that officially, you can't function in the stated capacities.

Now this isn't meant to be the funny part, because it was moreso a moment of unity amongst a seemingly defeated brotherhood.  But it did prompt some other shenanigans, such as...

The Stroll Off

Rickie, Brian, and I are called the "Triumvirate."  This three-man team is probably the most known set of the Delta Delta chapter since our founders, primarily because we bothered to put ourselves in the public eye during our undergraduate years.  So when the suspension came over the chapter, this created in us a need to maintain our prominence on campus, even with the current decree against us.

Now at this time, the three of us were fresh off of graduation, which means we, technically, did not have to abide by the rules of suspension for the undergraduates.  So when the Deltas decided to have a stroll off on campus, we decided that we would enter as the representatives for our suspended brethren. 

The "D" in 7 D.E.P. stands for De"phi"ant, by the way.

The battle came down to us and the Sigmas. Now let's list the pro's and cons:

Pros:  We had energy, we had the creativity, and we had the spirit of our undergrad bruhs behind us.
Cons: Them n*ggas had abs...as in abdominals.

No HOMO, but clearly, the three of us were going to win the sexiness battle, and since the crowd was mainly women, we had to neutralize this advantage somehow.

The Sigmas went first.  They came with a high energy stroll that got the crowd super crunk.  It was a performance that would surely beat any other stroll team on the yard at that time.  With this in mind, we huddled up.

"Rickie, how's your leg?" I asked.

"Ace, I can make it...what are we gonna do?"

"Sean Paul Stroll, but we will do it to a different song..."

I walked over to the DJ and whispered to him the song we needed him to play.

We stood on stage, nervous yet determined to remain the kings of the stroll.  The sounds of "I Wanna Rock" by Luke came through the speakers, and it was showtime. Adrenaline is a powerful tool in any performance, and we were brimming with it.

As we went through the show, we saw the crowd jumping up and chanting "Delta Delta."  The energy of the crowd let us know that we had their support and that they were behind us all the way. The underdogs...the dudes who seemingly could not win, had won over the support of most of the crowd and had paved the way for a difficult judging decision. After much deliberation, the judges decided it was a tie.

This did not sit well with the Sigmas, and in their determination to beat us, they jumped on stage, took off their shirts, and started dancing for the ladies.  That was the slap in the face that no one should ever have to experience.  There was only one thing left to do...

We lifted our shirts and jumped on stage, dancing for the ladies as well.  I mean, we probably could have just started to fight em, but in the words of Riley Freeman, "These n*ggas was too glistening."

*Sidenote:  We have always had a great bond with the Sigmas at ASU, so no animosity actually existed.  But the spirit of competition will make people do some of the craziest things.*

Conclusion

All in all, the chapter has rebounded quite nicely from the depths of that suspension.  Some of that comes from the dedication of the graduate chapter in rebuilding the undergraduate membership.  Some comes from the quality of the members that were brought in after us.  But a large portion of it comes from the fact that the brothers of 7 D.E.P. refused to let the memory and spirit of the Delta Delta chapter die with the black box.  For that reason, the campus has always had love for the Alphas at ASU, and those historical moments will forever live in the hearts of the students who saw the Triumvirate fight for the love of Alpha.

*Fade to Black*

No comments: