Sigma Lambda Beta celebrated Leap Day 2016 by having its first event in nearly two years. The UnRuLy brothers put on a marvelous showcase, People of Creativity, which offered a platform for the University’s diverse population. The event was held in the Student Union on the evening of Monday, Feb. 29, and the house was packed from beginning to end.
When asked about why they decided to have POC be the first event they of the semester, Sigma Lambda Beta brother Emanuel Nunez said, “We knew to make our presence felt, we needed to start off the semester with a bang. It was my idea to put this together and the chapter as a whole decided to run with it because they knew that the diverse population would love and support the concept fully.”
SLB is the longest active running fraternity at the University, with UnRuLy Chi chapter being established in November 1992. After some time of not having events on campus to promote the organization, they are looking to get the ball rolling again with four events planned for the spring semester.
The event began with the University’s very own Rianna Chase, junior, singing her rendition of “Me” by Tamia, which was received well by the crowd. From there, the night kept getting better and better. To celebrate SLB being active and running for quite some time, they had a surprise in store for the student body. SLB invited alumnus Adrian Simpson, Class of 2012, to sing the very popular “Hello” by Adele.
The entertainment kept getting better as the University’s talent and diversity was in full display. Sophomore JayT Russell came out to rap an original piece, supported by his own crew of backup dancers.
“I’m glad that I can use the connections that I’ve made in my time here at Pace to attract so many people to an event that we all worked hard to put together,” said Robyn Berube, president of Sigma Lambda Beta and Greek Council.
One of those connections is sophomore Ayanda Kristen Thusi, president of Femme Fatale. Femme Fatale ended up closing the show with a bang, with choreography to Beyoncé’s pro-black anthem “Formation,” which received overwhelming applause from the crowd. When asked how she felt about her involvement in POC, Thusi said, “I want to thank Sigma Lambda Beta for having my dance team be a part of such an amazing evening. All the performers were great and I hope to work alongside this fraternity in the future!”
Joseph Balbuena, vice president of SLB, was sincerely grateful to the artists that participated in the night’s festivities. “I really want to give a huge shout out to the performers and talented people at Pace University,” Balbuena said. “You guys made the evening amazing. From singing to dancing and even rapping, it goes to show how creative and unique every individual here at Pace is. The sky is the limit in talent. Tonight was one of many events that we plan on hosting and we hope to have the same turnout we had tonight.”
Berube went on to say, “Being as active as I am on campus, involved in many clubs and organizations including Black Student Union and president of SLB and Greek Council, I am so happy with the turnout that we had tonight. You always hope for your work to show in the end result, but even I couldn’t have imagined how great tonight was. I’m very happy with the work my chapter has done tonight. [I’m] proud of my guys.”
