Alpha Kappa Alpha discusses society issues
The women at the event participated in group games to facilitate dialogue.
Published Sept. 8, 2006
More than 50 women dressed in business attire gathered in the Joplin/Boone Room in Memorial Union for Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority's annual Alpha Kappa Alpha in the Evening event.
Alpha Kappa Alpha, one of the Divine Nine members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, provided drinks and hosted a discussion about issues pertinent to black women in contemporary society.
"The dialogue involved in activities like these remove the inter-gender barriers between women to spotlight shared issues and their individual personalities," Linda Garth, Alpha Kappa Alpha graduate chapter adviser, said. "It is great to see members doing good things for the campus and local community."
Upon entering the room, each participant wrote down two questions on note cards for the Girl Talk closing activity.
Throughout the night, women participated in the Clothespin Challenge.
Each participant received a clothespin at the beginning of the session, but it was taken away if they said the "forbidden" words: I, pink, green, first and ladies.
A round of "I Never," a game with rules similar to those of musical chairs, followed introductions.
The girls split into groups of four and acted out the right and wrong things to do in certain types of social scenarios. In one scenario, the team had to act out telling a close friend her boyfriend was cheating on her.
In another situation, the women had to simulate reacting to a classmate who was talking on her cell phone during a study session.
"It's an excellent way to start the year off because you get to meet other girls that are here for the same reasons, and it's an opportunity for early networking," Alpha Kappa Alpha Vice President Briana Martin said.
Freshman Alechia Williams said the Girl Talk discussion provided a good opportunity for the women to talk about their status in society.
"During Girl Talk, one of the topics discussed was how we felt about the status of black women, and we all felt that it has dramatically dropped over the years due to degrading music videos and people who choose be ignorant towards our culture," Williams said. "What we need to do is empower ourselves and keep motivating our fellow black women. AKA and other black organizations on campus have helped make my first-year experience more comfortable and have helped me with getting to know Mizzou better."
Freshman Dorothy Addae said she planned on attending Alpha Kappa Alpha's future events.
"This definitely was worthwhile and just a good opportunity for meeting other successful, loving and warm black women on campus," Addae said.
