AKA celebrates Best Week Ever

Each day focused on a principle of the sorority.

By Megan Stroup

Published May 4, 2009

Correction appended

National Panhellenic Council sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha hosted its "Best Week Ever" event last week in an effort to reach out to the campus and Columbia community.

Assistant Secretary Daryl Kirkland-Morgan said one of Alpha Kappa Alpha's traditions is to have a week of events that cater to the principles of the sorority.

The Delta Tau chapter at MU celebrated the tradition this semester with Best Week Ever, inspired by the VH1 television show.

"We tried to tie the days together with a television theme," Kirkland-Morgan said, pointing out the VH1 show title "From G's to Gents" inspired the name of Wednesday's K's and Gents event.

The week began with a premiere of a video about Best Week Ever, followed by a dessert reception.

"That set the tone for the rest of the week," chapter President Jessica Johnson said of the premiere. "It was something original, and no one had ever done it before."

Each day of the week was focused on one of five national platforms set forth by the international Alpha Kappa Alpha organization.

On Monday, Delta Tau invited entrepreneur Lamar Womble to address the platform of the non-traditional entrepreneur. Womble hosted a forum to boil down the components of being a passionate leader, Johnson said.

Tuesday evening, members of Alpha Kappa Alpha went to the Boys and Girls Club of the Columbia area to advise sixth through ninth graders how to save and spend money wisely. This event satisfied the national platform of financial empowerment and the economic keys to success.

Male black students on campus had the opportunity to be appreciated during Wednesday's event, the K's and Gents Men's Appreciation Night. Author Lyah Leflore attended the dinner to speak about her book, "I Got Your Back," written with Eddie and Gerald Levert about a father-son relationship.

"She talked about what black men need to step up and do and how much African-American women appreciated them," Johnson said.

Leflore is an Alpha Kappa Alpha alumna from Stephens College.

"That meant a lot to me to see so many black men there," Johnson said about the dinner. "A lot of times, black men aren't appreciated or are looked at in a negative way."

The night of appreciation addressed the economic growth of the black family, another national platform.

"Most of them don't have families yet," Kirkland-Morgan said about the men who attended. "But they will one day, and it promotes them to be good men of the community."

The second half of the week began with a "Girl Meets World" pillow talk forum for women to discuss relationships in the new world of Internet dating and "sexting." The session addressed the program of economic educational advancement through technology.

On Friday, the sorority sisters visited Blue Ridge Elementary School to help students learn about health during their "K's Anatomy" event. The women assisted the elementary students as they explored different stations to learn about health and science, satisfying the fifth and final platform of health resource management and economics.

That night, the sorority hosted a party at Boone Tavern to serve as an outlet for the campus before the start of finals, Kirkland-Morgan said.

Best Week Ever ended Saturday with a final service project, as Alpha Kappa Alpha helped collect leftover meal swipes outside Plaza 900 for a local non-profit organization, the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Missouri, Kirkland-Morgan said.

Alpha Kappa Alpha has 19 members in the Delta Tau chapter, all of whom Johnson said were active during Best Week Ever.

"We expect all members to be involved in any service initiative," Johnson explained. "We pride ourselves in providing 'service to all mankind.'"

Correction:

The original story said the leftover meal swipes went to Granny's House. The correct charity was the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Missouri. Alpha Kappa Alpha was also only one of several organizations who volunteered at the event on Saturday. The Maneater regrets the error.