Rho Psi at TSU to Reactivate

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Fraternity flirts with possible comeback
5-year suspension to be lifted next month


(Above) More than 100 members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. pose after the dedication of a monument on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005. TSU’s undergraduate chapter has been inactive on campus since 2001, but the five-year suspension is scheduled to expire at the end May 2006. But, official reactivation is not guaranteed. (K Cummings)
by Cara Anthony
Campus News Writer
April 23, 2006


To Sekou Charles the possibility of being a part of the reactivation of the Rho Psi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. is a matter of patience.

Charles, a member of Nashville’s Gamma Phi graduate chapter, said his chapter will be responsible for overseeing the intake process of the chapter if reinstated.

“We (Gamma Phi) are just waiting to get the green light from the national council,” said Charles, a graduate student studying marketing management from Chicago. “President (Melvin N.) Johnson seemed to have a friendly attitude about the chapter coming back.”

The fraternity recently held a regional meeting in Nashville on March 31 – April 2 at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel.

Also, during the fraternity’s regional meeting, discussion about the Rho Psi chapter was on agenda, according to an Internet article on freedomforum.org.

The chapter, which was banned from the TSU campus in 2001, after being linked to the death of student Joseph Terry Green Jr., may soon have its suspension lifted, according to freedomforum.org.

This follows a May 10, 2001, letter to the chapter members from then fifth district representative Henry F. Jackson Jr., which stated, “This revocation may be lifted by the Supreme Council of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. after five years or at such time that no member of the Rho Psi Chapter is enrolled as a full time or part time student at Tennessee State University, whichever is later.”

But Horace Chase, the fraternity’s current fifth district representative, said even though the suspension is expected to be lifted soon, there will still be limitations on the chapter.

“The chapter is on suspension until the end of May,” Chase told freedomforum.org. “We’ll look into the visibility factor when the time comes … but there will be restrictions.”

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“All organizations have had things happen they’re not proud of,” Chase said to freedomforum.org “I’m looking for good, strong leadership to bring Rho Psi back into the fold at TSU. We don’t want to fall into any more problems because, quite honestly, it’s an embarrassment to our organization.”

Omegas, a part of TSU history since 1912

The “Mighty” Rho Psi chapter was founded on the TSU, then Tennessee A&I College, campus on April 30, 1930, as the first National Pan-Hellenic organization at the school.

The chapter was founded by Robert E. Clay, whose namesake is the Clay Hall education building; J.F. McClellan, a Nashville attorney at the time; Walter S. Davis, TSU’s second president; and William J. Hale, TSU’s first president.

Just this past fall, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005, several members of TSU’s Rho Psi chapter were joined by other Omega chapters as the fraternity held a special ceremony to dedicate a monument to the fraternity.

Former TSU president James A. Hefner, also a member of the fraternity, was at the event and said the monument marked a first for not only the fraternity, but for TSU.

“We are the first institution to have a non-state monument on a state campus,” Hefner said in the Sept. 8, 2005 issue of The Meter. “We wouldn’t take no for an answer. (Former TSU presidents) Walter S. Davis and Dr. William Jasper Hale are smiling on us now.”

In athletics, TSU’s first football All-American, Forrest Strange, was a charter member of the Rho Psi chapter as well.

Dean Ronald Myles, director of student activities, said members of the student body have inquired about the organization, but TSU officials have not received any official notification of Rho Psi’s return to campus.

Myles said, “Reinstatement will not be automatic.”•