We are sitting in a tucked-away room in the Union. It is quiet and secluded. Quiet, that is, until I ask the three men about Phi Beta Sigma. Then the room comes alive with history.

They are educated on the facts and the back-story, but what is more notable is the passion they share for their fraternity.

These men are Anthony Staton, Jr., 20; Frank Brown, 21; and Mikal Wesley, 22. Staton, a journalism and dance major, is the chapter“s historian; this means he is responsible for photographing the fraternity and their events, putting together the chapter album as well as the chapter report.

Brown, a first-year transfer student majoring in accounting, is in charge of the step; as he says, he “puts the s--t together.” Wesley, a recent graduate is the chapter“s chaplain; he leads all the prayers at the fraternity“s meetings and on their trips.

We are discussing the historic Phi Beta Sigma, a black fraternity founded in 1914 at Howard University by three students, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse and Charles Brown, on the tenets of brotherhood, scholarship and service. It has long since been constitutionally bound to its sister sorority, Zeta Phi Beta (founded in the same place six year later), the only such Greek organizations bound in this way.

Phi Beta Sigma“s motto is, “Culture for service and service for humanity.” The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chapter embodies the organization“s motto as well as its original tenets; a main platform is cancer awareness.

“We let the community as well as the university know about cancer,” said Staton.

The members of Phi Beta Sigma try to provide education about preemptive care, screenings, as well as treatment. The organization is directly connected to the American Cancer Society, and all its members volunteer for the society. They also participate in an annual walk for the society.

In addition to their work with ACS, Phi Beta Sigma has partnerships with other student organizations, like the Black Student Union (BSU). Last year, the two organizations participated in a neighborhood cleanup, Rake-a-thon, an event where student volunteers raked leaves for the elderly. Phi Beta Sigma participates in the annual AIDS walk as well.

The fraternity also works with high school students through Sigma Beta Club, a national program started in 1950. Members involved act as mentors, providing tutoring services as well as showing seniors “the ropes of college,” said Staton.

Each year, Phi Beta Sigma gives away three $1000 scholarships to seniors; Five-hundred is given to the students upon graduation, and another $500 after they successfully finish their first semester of college.

“They are just a younger version of us,” said Brown of his high school Brothers.

Phi Beta Sigma as a national organization is involved in three other large programs: Bigger and Better Business, Social Action and Education.

Another important part of the fraternity is stepping.

“All black fraternities step,” said Staton, although each has its own distinct style.

Stepping has become a social phenomenon lately, thanks to blockbusters like “Stomp the Yard.” Yet Hollywood doesn“t seem to have it quite right.

“The movie“s more dancing than stepping,” said Wesley. “From a Sigma point of view, we like to step.”

Stepping is also more than just entertainment, explains Brown.

“They (the moviemakers) did not represent the roots of stepping well,” said Brown. “There“s a history behind it. It“s a way of communicating and showing our skills”

The Phi Beta Sigma fraternity holds a milestone in the stepping record books; it was the first to implement canes into the stepping routine.

Another form of stepping is known as strolling or party walking. This happens at a party, when all the black Greek organizations will “stroll” around the perimeter of the party, forming a tight line, signifying the unity of the fraternity.

“(Strolling) is a celebration of sigma,” said Staton, “A celebration that we are men of sigma.”

In fact, as part of Black History Month, Phi Beta will be teaching Washington High School how to step.

They also will be showing off their stepping skills in conjunction with BSU“s Black Love Week.

The fraternity itself may stand for a lot, but the men behind it are quite grounded.

“We pretty much just like to be recognized (on campus),” said Staton. “We try to model ourselves as smart African-American men.”

They are not all work and no play, however, Wesley is quick to add.

“We do know how to have fun,” he said. “We party hard, stay up late.”

The brotherhood involved in a fraternity seems to be at the forefront for these men. The fraternity is always a mix of older and younger men, and the older members become mentors toward the younger ones, said Brown.

“It“s about the “we,“ ” said Jeffrey Norman, a UWM alumni and Phi Beta Sigma member who is currently running for Municipal Court Judge in Milwaukee. “It“s not about “I.“ It“s about what you can do for the organization.”

This is exactly what attracted Staton to the fraternity.

“That“s something powerful to look at a man for his merits rather than his background,” said Staton. “We are individuals and at the same time one.”

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