Alpha Phi Alpha is a fraternity that was founded on December 4, 1906, on the campus of Cornell University by seven men of African Descent. It is the first African-American intercollegiate Greek lettered Fraternity. Alpha is a fraternity that “develops leaders, promotes brotherhood and  academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for our communities,” as said in their mission statement.

Alpha Phi Alpha was chartered on Millikin’s campus on May 4, 1973. Though in 2011 events took place that led to the Theta Omicron chapter’s moratorium.

The chapter made its first reappearance in the fall semester of 2017 with a new line of four men called S.S.ICENSION. The four newest members of the oldest fraternity are Senior BFA Acting major Kevin Harris, Junior Sport Management major Tay Porch, Senior BFA Acting major Joshua Miller, and Junior Information Systems major Moses McConnell.

With there now only being four men in the chapter, the new members of Greek Life had to take on important roles sooner than they thought. McConnell is now the chapter president, Miller is the Vice President, Parliamentarian, and Director of Educational Activities, Harris is the Secretary and Sergeant-at-arms, and Porch is the Treasurer.

Becoming new members of a Greek organization is something new and exciting. A new-found bond is created between people, who may have never crossed paths. Those once strangers are now bonded together by a brotherhood that will last a lifetime. “No matter where I go in most corners in the world, wherever I move, wherever I settle, if I need family, if I need connections I have other Alphas I can reach out to,” said Harris when asked what his favorite thing is about his new-found brotherhood.

Miller said his favorite thing about Alpha was, “how much of a presence we have as men. You can go anywhere in the world and you’ll know its an Alpha man when he walks into a room. But also our dedication to leadership, not only leadership of other people but leadership of ourselves. Being the destiny, the captain of our own faith.”

While leadership is an important trait of an Alpha man, so is their education. It’s stated in their mission statement and the men of Alpha Phi Alpha pride themselves on being educated according to Miller. “When we were founded one of our first programs was Go to High School, Go to College,” said Harris. This program was about educating young black people and giving them the tools they needed to go out and do great things in their communities.

Speaking of community, the Alpha’s have been dedicated to activism in their community from the start, according to Harris. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Paul Robeson are just a few of many, that stood up for what was right. They fought for the black community during the Civil Rights Movement; they were activists. Those men were some of the top black male leaders back in the day. This is something that Alpha men strive for.

“I chose Alpha because I felt that it was important for me to align myself  myself with something that was greater than myself so that I could give back to my community. So I could educate people on this campus about black male leadership and give an example of what black male leadership is. We are lacking that,” said Harris.

Yes, leadership is very prominent on Millikin’s campus, but there is a lack of the black leadership component. The other Greek organizations don’t necessarily  know how to cater to the black men on campus. While the other organizations know how to draw different people in, they aren’t able to connect with all black students due to different experiences and upbringings.

The Alphas want to set examples for the black men on campus, and show them the greatness they can achieve. They want to draw the leader out of them. They want to teach them “the power they have within themselves and the power they have to change the community,” said Miller.

They are all about the transformational leadership. Not only transformation of themselves but the transformation of the communities we live in.

Be on the lookout for some of the upcoming events by the men of Alpha Phi Alpha. Some of those events will include study tables, fundraisers, and Alpha week; which starts the week of April 22. Make sure you go out and support this Greek organization!