One of those faculty was a Kappa and connected with Kenneth’s dad and later Kenneth himself. Additionally, when visiting MIT, his parents attended an OME event and met faculty affiliated with D9 organizations. His dad, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, contacted alumni members in Boston and found that there was a chapter in the area. While this was saddening, it provided a great opportunity to witness these organizations’ connections spanning across state lines. He says there was one person from everyone he spoke to who knew specifically of D9 organizations. Kenneth went to most of MIT’s fraternities and asked people if they’d heard of different D9 organizations and was confused when hardly anyone knew about it. It’s also a wonderful excuse to go paintballing, F1 racing, eat the obligatory steak and lobster, and throw golf balls attached to some string at a horizontal piece of PVC' This was taken straight from Snively's post titled The Other Side of Fraternities because I would not have described it any better. Rush week, 02 Rush is 'a chance for new freshmen guys to get a chance to meet as many fraternity members as possible and decide whether or not they’d like to live in a fraternity. Since Kenneth grew up surrounded by Black Greek culture, he just assumed D9 organizations would be at any university he went to. But, when she attended CPW, she not only saw the Black community at MIT but also noticed a few people wearing their paraphernalia, which assured her decision to commit to MIT. In addition, she didn’t think D9 organizations would be available at MIT and was starting to accept that joining one wouldn’t be a reality for her at least during her undergraduate career. Having a strong Black community was one of her deciding factors, and she was unsure whether MIT would have that compared to the other HBCUs and universities she was considering. On top of her own research, her pastor and bishop shared their experiences with their fraternities and connected her with other Greek-affiliated individuals.ĭuring her senior year of high school, AudreyRose, who lives in Massachusetts, would leave her hometown and explore the Boston area, especially because she was considering attending MIT. She started to learn more about D9s in middle school when she began to think about college, specifically HBCUs. In the middle is AudreyRose, who didn’t come from a Greek-affiliated family but knew people at her church who were. It was actually Kenneth who told her about them after she expressed her desire to join a sorority but was hesitant to join MIT sororities since most are majority white and Asian. On the other hand, Nikayah had not heard about D9 organizations until she came to college. As Kenneth grew older, he understood where this instant camaraderie came from–a shared fraternity. He recalls noticing that his dad would have an immediate connection with people he had just met after a brief conversation. Paraphernalia 01 Black Greek apparel and other Black Greek decorations. He has grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and parents who are part of a D9 organization. Each organization has a rich and unique history, culture, and traditions, and its members can span several generations. (ΩΨΦ), Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity (ΦΒΣ), Zeta Phi Beta Sorority (ZΦB), Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority (ΣΓΡ), and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity (ΙΦΘ). In the next sixty years, eight other organizations would form at different universities, namely Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA), Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (KAΨ), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (ΔΣΘ), Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. The first Black intercollegiate Greek fraternity is Alpha Phi Alpha, founded in 1906 at Cornell University. Officially, the nine organizations constitute the National Pan-Hellenic Council. My goal is to illustrate that there is a D9 presence at MIT and show the many benefits of joining one.ĭ9 is a shorthand for “Divine Nine”, a casual label that refers to nine historically African American Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities. A few weeks ago, I called three friends, AudreyRose ‘21, Nikayah ‘19, and Kenneth ‘19, to talk about their experiences as members of historically Black Greek letter organizations.
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