Morgan State University students filled Hill Field House on Monday night to watch the display of talents and conjure some school pride for Homecoming Week 2014 at the annual pep rally.
Even though homecoming coincidentally falls on the same week as midterms for the third consecutive year – to the dismay of many students across campus – the gymnasium was close to full occupancy for the evening.
While the pep rally began over an hour after the intended start time, the energy in the building was in abundance from the moment the MCs introduced themselves to the audience. The Absolutely Beautiful and Confident Models of MSU began the pep rally with a preview of what was to come the next evening at their fashion show. The football team followed suit, giving a message to the crowd ensuring a good game for their first home contest in nearly a month. The dance team and cheerleaders then performed after an interclass contest that the Class of 2015 won.
The highlight of the evening’s festivities, however, was the much-anticipated routines from the school’s Greek organizations.
Before the respective fraternities and sororities wowed the crowd with their respective displays, select members from each organization collaborated for a Unity Step. Each fraternity and sorority represented was able to display the unique characteristics of their organization’s steps while putting together an impressive mass performance that rendered a gym-shaking applause. Afterwards, Phi Beta Sigma, Alpha Phi Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Omega Psi Phi, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Morgan State-founded Iota Phi Theta executed on nearly all cylinders individually to close out the pep rally.
Marcus Patterson, a senior Computer Science major, Mr. Morgan and one of the hosts for the evening, was pleased with the turnout and spirit from the students.
“I wish they had the band here a little longer,” he said. “We had to feed off the energy of the music, but other than that, it was good.”
Throughout the night, it seemed as if the Magnificent Marching Machine wasn’t missed. If they were, the student body managed to enjoy the lineup of events nonetheless.
When students are not in class taking midterm exams, there is something available for them to enjoy all week for Homecoming 2014. Disappointment was a commonly shared emotion amongst the Morgan community when finding out Homecoming and Midterms coincided once again, but that was not the case by the end of Monday night.
“We celebrated right, and I feel like everything else is going to fall into place,” said Patterson.
Photos by Benjamin McKnight III
