By Olivia Consuelo Ramos
Correspondent
Stomp N Shake Lions, a school spirit team that performs a cheerleading style derived from Black colleges and universities, became the College’s first Stomp and Shake recognized student organization.
The performance of Stomp and Shake was born during the 1970s in the Southern U.S., according to the nonprofit You Focused in Technique. It is a combination of step dance and cheerleading, which utilizes energetic movements such as foot stomps, full body shaking and powerful cheers to display school spirit.
SNS Lions was originally associated with the Black Student Union. The organization was able to grow as a club and as a team due to their support from BSU.
“We have to thank BSU for letting us start from where we came from,we have to respect that,” SNS Lions President and Co-Captain Adalmaris Castillo said.
In the spring of 2023, Castillo, a junior interactive multimedia major, founded the first Stomp n Shake club at the College with the help of a faculty advisor and other founding executive board members.
SNS Lions’ first general body meeting for the spring semester was on Feb. 6, and welcomes all students, regardless of experience level, to its meetings.
Zora Allison, a sophomore public health major and the co-captain and public relations coordinator for SNS Lions, spoke to The Signal about the organization’s goals and purpose.
“Our purpose here at TCNJ, I would say, is to bring a new piece of culture to the environment, where people who are interested in this specific style of cheerleading are able to feel included,” Allison said.
SNS Lions partners with other performance clubs at the College. The RSO actively supports and helps create school spirit by performing at events, such as basketball games and at some of the College’s club events. Its upcoming events include the Association of Students for Africa’s Celebrations of Africa and the College’s men’s basketball game, both on Feb. 22.
The organization’s mission is to create a space for people to connect with each other, to be informed of the history behind the performance art and to allow members to embrace individuality of the Stomp and Shake dance.
“When we have those events and when we’re cheering,” Allison said, “It’s not just for the performance aspect but we also want to be sure we’re giving that background information because a lot of people may not know, and that’s perfectly fine, but it’s always a learning experience.”
The team’s current objective is to encourage both current and prospective students to join the club.
“I just want to make sure that whenever I leave here, and whenever the e-board leaves here, the performance team leaves here, or the general body leaves at TCNJ, that all of it comes with as much love and appreciation and growth that it possibly can,” Castillo said.
