“Stepping is not just a dance, it’s our culture, it’s the way we live, eat, think, breathe,” a voice stated at the African American Step and Drill Show on Saturday night, Feb. 12. The show exposed audiences to a major aspect of the black culture.

“None of us have seen anything like this before,” said junior Kim Lindell.

The event, as a whole, was definitely an experience SDSU has not presented before. The Iowa State University Marching Cyclone Drill Team and Cyclone Steps performed last year in the Volstorff Ball Room. Rozhyer Aware, program advisor for Multicultural Affairs, said she received very positive feedback after last year’s show and that many students wanted it back. Recognizing that SDSU is now a Division I school, Aware decided to bring more teams for a bigger and better show.

Little did she know that one other team would be added to the program. At a Black Student Alliance (BSA) meeting three weeks ago, Aware proposed the idea of SDSU students putting together a step team of their own.

“The students loved it!” Aware said.

Other teams, like the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta may have been practicing as early as December, but their experience does not reach above and beyond that of BSA’s. Diana Lauritson, president of the Tao Alpha chapter of Zeta Phi Beta, said this was the first time their team had ever performed. The team members were eager for this opportunity.

“It’s fun to expose people to black Greek organizations,” said Tania Parker of Zeta Phi Beta.

Troy Ezell from Phi Beta Sigma was just as eager to put all their practice to use.

“We work real hard, we’re real proud, and I think we’ll do really good,” Ezell said.

Master of Ceremony, comedian Derrick “DJ” Thompson, started the show with a little humorous flavor of his own and continued adding it between performances. He also reminded everyone of the importance of all cultures coming together to form, what he called a “uniculture”. This mindset prevailed not only in the different cultures represented by the audience, but also in the performances. The Cyclone Steps had one Asian-American on their team, and one member of Zeta Phi Beta, a traditionally African-American sorority, is Caucasian.

Each performance brought its own unique aspect, and besides stepping, no two were alike at all. The BSA started things off with the guys and girls “challenging” each other on which group had better moves, but came together in the end and stepped as a team. The Cyclone Steps came next with a story line about a girl showing interest in joining the steps team. Then Phi Beta Sigma brought the crowd to life with their Frankenstein theme. “The Omaha guys (Phi Beta Sigma) were definitely the best,” said freshman Emily Hammerquist.

The show then took a short intermission for a raffle drawing, sponsored by the Minority Peer Mentor Program. Zeta Phi Beta followed their brothers’ act, incorporating much of their history and purpose into the introduction. The Marching Cyclone Drill Team gave their audience a grand finale, bringing drums, trumpets, trombones and the steps team all onto the stage.

A mixed audience came away with a better understanding, and perhaps appreciation of, the importance of step dance in black culture.

Students, faculty and campus organizations have all had to make adjustments this year because of the University Student Union’s construction. But the construction has actually hurt business for the University Bookstore.

With the breezeway and meeting rooms gone, the bookstore has lost most of its walk-by traffic customers, upsetting sales immensely. Bookstore Director Gary Burdick said this year’s sales are down by $100,000.

Another problem Burdick has run into is the ongoing construction during business hours. For example, customer traffic was slowed while crew workers installed handicap accessibile doors during one of the bookstore’s busiest days of the year. Students were forced to move around the workers.

“One of my main concerns has been with the designers and their inexperience with the bookstore business,” he says.

The biggest hassle for students thus far has been the overwhelming lines.

“It’s just been insane,” said sophomore Jordan Day. “I broke a sweat just standing in line.”

Some students plan ahead for the inconveniences.

“I expected long lines and large crowds, so I went at about 9:30 in the morning and there was no wait,” said freshman Jordan Ochocki.

Others don’t mind putting up with the hardships the construction has caused.

“I haven’t heard too many complaints about the construction,” said freshman Chris Mouw. “I feel that any difficulties we as students might face are compensated for with the completion of the renovated Student Union. It’s going to be awesome.”

But will the addition to the bookstore be all that beneficial? Burdick said that with the Computer Tech moving in from the Rotunda, he won’t be able to spread out as much as originally hoped. He might have the setup flopped around, but not much else will change.

But Burdick remains optimistic, knowing he will be able to work with whate

ver the outcome. It could be worse. When the union was renovated in 1992, Burdick and his staff packed up and moved to the intramural building. That was a huge hassle, he said. He would rather deal with this than move again.

The Academic Senate, a group of 32 elected representatives, who decide on issues like core curriculum changes and technology in the classrooms, has a bigger impact on our day-to-day lives than most students realize.

“The responsibility for the Academic Senate is to discuss and make recommendations on the academic portion of the university,” said the senate’s chair Joel Hefling, also an associate professor in the communication studies and theatre department.

The senate, which meets twice a month, has final input into such issues as core and graduation requirements, Hefling said.

Senators are elected to three-year terms from each of the eight colleges on campus, the library and the administration. Senators serve on rotating terms so as not to have a new senate with each election.

Representation is proportional to the size of the college or facility; so, for example, the college of arts and sciences has more senators than the library staff.

“At other universities, they might call it a faculty senate and it would only include faculty,” Hefling said. “This concept generally does not include administrators, research faculty, library staff or any support staff.”

The Academic Senate also represents Cooperative Extension Service personnel, administration and the Student Association.

When the senate addresses issues or possible changes, no voice goes unheard, and that is where Amanda Mattingly steps in. President of SDSU Student Association, Mattingly stands for the voice of the students.

“I’m like one of the senators on my senate,” Mattingly said.

The Nov. 9 meeting will address curriculum changes.

Students may attend meetings. However, if a student feels he or she has an idea the senate should address, it should be taken first to one of the senators from that student’s department, Hefling said.