)LACK HISTORY MONTH
ippa Alpha Psi, chartered Dec. 5,1986, was one of the first official NPHC fratnerities at Elon.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELON ARCHIVES PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELON ARCHIVES
Alpha Kappa Alpha, was one of the first NPHC sororities on Elon's campus in the NPHC, was chartered
in 1987.
Black students find community in NPHC
PHC
EMBERSHIP
he NPHC
as a total
■ 38 active
lembers,
wording
I the most
:cent fall
)17 report.
istorically black fraternities and
rrorities leave mark on campus with
immunity service
laggie Brown
jporter | @MaggieAbrown_
Elon University is a predominantly
hite institution. Almost 6 percent of Elon
udents are African-American. In the
)80s, the National Pan-hellenic Council
'IPHC) was established at Elon for the Af
rican-American Communi
ty-
Seven of the nine or
ganizations in the NPHC
—Alpha Kappa Alpha So
rority, Inc., Alpha Phi Al
pha Fraternity, Inc., Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.,
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity,
Inc., Omega Psi Phi Frater
nity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma
Fraternity, Inc. and Zeta
Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.—
re recognized on Elon’s campus today,
urrently, the NPHC has 38 active mem-
ers according to the most recent fall 2017
rport.
Seven male fraternities on campus are
nder the The Inter-fraternity Council
FC), totalling 438 active members. Ten
male sororities are under the Panhellenic
ssociation with 1,381 active members.
Nationally, the NPHC was established
i 1930 as a place for African-Americans
> be able to participate in Fraternity and
orority Life (FSL). But it wasn’t until the
te 90s did Elon’s IFC and the PA recognize
le sororities and fraternities in the NPHC
II campus and paired with them in events.
“The whole history of the NPHC is
1 organization that created community
here there wasn’t necessarily one,” junior
yamond Howell, president of the Omi-
‘on Iota chapter of Delta Sigma Theta
lid. “It’s kind of like having historically
ack colleges; black people weren’t allowed
I join white sororities and fraternities.”
FSL is still a large part of Elon’s campus
►day, with 42 percent of students involved
I a Greek organization, according to Elon’s
ebsite.
Though only 2 percent of students in
SL are in the NPHC, that 2 percent sees
lis as beneficial. Junior Samira Foster,
resident of Omicron Epsilon chapter of
Ipha Kappa Alpha, loves the bonding that
le gets out of her chapter.
“It is a very small, close-knit communi-
',” Foster said. “We are in unison, because
lere’s not very many of us. It feels like you
ave a family.”
Connecting to the community through
AVERAGE NUMBER OF FALL 2017 REPORTEO COMMUNITY SERVICE
15
13.71
12 -
THE FOLLOWING GREEK ORGANIZATIONS
OECLINED TO COMMENT FOR THIS STORY:
1. Alpha Chi Omega lO. Delta Upsilon
2. Alpha Omicron Pi ii. Kappa Alpha
Order
12. Kappa Sigma
13. Sigma Chi
14. Zeta Beta Tau
5.59
Students Male
In IFC students
in NPHC
fraternities
service is a draw for many students when
joining an organization in the NPHC over
one in the IFC or the PA.
New president of Sigma Phi Epsilon, ju
nior Nicholas Smith, said his fraternity also
serves at the local boys and girls club. He
said he would love to see fraternities under
the IFC and NPHC coming together and
Students
in PA
Female
students in
NHPC
sororities
STATISTICS COURTESY OF ELON FALL 2017 COMMUNITY REPORT
KAITLYNFUI DESIGNER
hours than a student in the IFC or PA, ac
cording to an ENN analysis of the fall 2017
report.
Alpha Phi Alpha serves with the Boys
and Girls Club as well. Sophomore Xavier
Bryant, treasurer of the Sigma Delta chap
ter said, “You can tell that they really ap
preciate it, for the children they like seeing
u
I THINK IT’S IMPORTANTTO KNOW THAT WE ARE A VERY
WELL-ROUNDED COMMUNITY OE PEOPLE, AND WE DO MORE
THAN STROLL AND STEP.
DYAMOND HOWELL
PREDISDENT OE THE DELTA SIGMA THETA CHAPTER
pairing up for more events.
“I definitely want to partner with the
NPHC in the future,” Smith said. “I see lots
of similarities between us and Alpha Phi
Alpha.”
Smith sees it as important in improv
ing diversity for organizations in the IFC
to partner with the NPHC. He hopes to do
more as a new leader in his fratneritiy.
In the most recent fall 2017 report, on
average a student in the NPHC does more
than three times more community service
older African-Americans that are in col
lege. We kind of serve as mentors and role
models without really even knowing it.”
The NPHC emphasizes that students are
making a lifelong decision that will affect
their future when they join an organization.
“Joining this organization in particular
along with their values, it gave me a lifelong
sisterhood that I get to use beyond college,”
Foster said. “This is literally a lifetime com
mitment.”
Students in the NPHC want to stay con-
3. Alpha Xi Delta
4. Delta Delta Delta
5. Phi Mu
6. Sigma Kappa
7. Sigma Sigma
Sigma
8. Zeta Tau Alpha
9. Beta Theta Pi
nected to their organizations after college.
“When you graduate, you still see peo
ple wearing their letters from the NPHC,”
Howell said.
The majority of those attending
the NPHC’s events are from the Afri
can-American community. But the NPHC
wants to expand their audience and edu
cate the general public on issues, rather
than speaking to the same people.
“aka’s were talking about the dynamics
of the black family, but there are only black
people coming those events,” Howell said.
“We as a community already know what
needs to be discussed and talked about on
Elon’s campus. But the people who need to
learn about it don’t show up.”
Foster said her favorite event during
Alpha Kapa Alpha’s programing week this
fall was the N-word forum, where her so
rority partnered with the Black Student
Union. The forum discussed the sensi
tive topic of using the N-word, ifs history
and how people have become desensitized
to it.
“I would like to see more white people
coming in particular just because those
are important racial conversations we have
there,” Foster said.
Students in the NPHC believe that
improving in understanding is where
to begin in increasing inclusivity on
Elon’s campus. Foster hopes to pair more
with other PA organizations in the fu
ture to gain a better understanding of
their organizations.
“There’s a lot I don’t know about their
sororities and there is just as much that
they don’t know about ours sororities,”
Foster said.
The NPHC is famous for hosting the
strolling and stepping dance offs, where all
three councils join to teach different types
of dances. But many of the chapter mem
bers want to be known for more than just
that one event on campus.
“I think it’s important to know that we
are a very well-rounded community of
people, and we do more than stroll and
step,” Howell said.