On April 3, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Kappa Chapter returned to Ohio State after a two-year suspension.

Founded in 1906 at Cornell University, Alpha Phi Alpha is the first collegiate black fraternity to be founded and incorporated.

“We’ve been working closely with the graduate and regional members, and we’re just glad to have them back on the yard,” said Steffani Pealer, senior coordinator of greek life at OSU.

Upon its reinstatement, Alpha Phi Alpha is 12 men strong.

“My uncle was an Alpha at the University of Cincinnati, and I looked up to him,” said Jermain Pettis, a senior in pre-family resource management, who was elected president of the fraternity.

“When I came to Ohio State in 2000, I saw the Alphas. (They have) a legacy of past prominent members – Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B Dubois (are a few),” Pettis said. “We are unprecedented in anything and everything we do.”

On January 1, 2001, the Kappa chapter suffered its first suspension for allegations of hazing and improper intake violations.

OSU and the national office of Alpha Phi Alpha enforced a two-year suspension and one-year probation, which prevented the fraternity from participating in any university activities or conducting any programs in the name of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Tutan Smith, a member of the Kappa chapter at the time of the suspension, said the fraternity lost all rights to be recognized as a student organization or to bring in any new members.

“I was very disappointed because I knew we were a very positive aspect of the African-American community at Ohio State,” said Smith, a fifth-year senior in biology. “It cast a shadow on us and greek life as a whole.”

Alpha Phi Alpha advisor Mataryun Wright said, “The biggest way to combat this is by making sure the new members fully understand and respect the fact that the fraternity is a non-hazing organization.”

Wright also said training will be provided for the new members to ensure they understand the importance of this issue.

“I expect them to be true to what Alpha Phi Alpha is and be active leaders in the community. If they do that, they will be the best leaders they can be,” Wright said.

The cause of the suspension and three-year hiatus did not deter the interest of nearly 100 black males who attended the informational meeting in May or the 12 members selected.

“The suspension was not representative of Alpha Phi Alpha as a whole, and you can’t judge the quality of an organization off of one incident,” said She’Rohn Draper, a junior in philosophy and secretary of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Draper also said he joined Alpha Phi Alpha for the brotherhood and the quality of the men he encountered at various fraternity functions.

“From the time you become a member until you leave this world, you’re not going through anything alone,” Draper said.

More than 20 years ago, members of Alpha Phi Alpha found a way to acknowledge the black females and males who were not being recognized on the university homecoming court with the first and only black homecoming pageant at OSU.

“In addition to meeting high moral and academic standards, participants also had to participate in a minimum of 10 community service projects,” Smith said.

There were normally 25 to 30 participants, and approximately 1,300 students attended the ceremony each year.

The new members of Alpha Phi Alpha plan to continue that tradition and also carry out the purpose of the fraternity.

Adrian Hamilton, a senior in agribusiness and applied economics, wants to help bring about change at the university.

“By working with African-American males, encouraging better awareness of scholarships and doing programs that include the community as a whole, we will fulfill our aims – manly deeds, scholarship and love for all mankind,” Hamilton said.

Establishing a presence on this campus, creating a more loving family environment and helping to increase the black male retention rate are only a few of the goals Charles Thomas, a senior in psychology, wants to reach.

“We want to start a pre-orientation program for incoming black male students on campus in order to get them acquainted with OSU,” Thomas said.

Like other new members, Thomas is prepared to continue the legacy, focus on the future and show everyone what it means to be a member of Alpha Phi Alpha.

“We are the trendsetters. We are about our business, brotherhood, and we are second to none,” he said.