Voter Registration as a requirement

[KappaKittyCat]

As my sister Shima-Mizu stated, voter registration is not a condition of pledging or initiating into KKG.

Do I think it should be a requirement? No, not for KKG. Kappas have long had a legacy of promoting political awareness. Last semester when I was doing research for my thesis at the University of Wisconsin, I found pictures in the archives of members of Kappa's Eta Chapter taking place in sufferage rallies. This and similar events occurred throughout the nation. I do believe that as responsible citizens, Kappas-- as part of our Tradition of Leadership-- should encourage political involvement, whether that is in the form of sponsoring debates, holding voter registration drives, or shuttling college students to and from their local polling place. However, political involvement was never one of the founding purposes of Kappa. The preamble to our constitution, written by our Founders in early 1870, does not discuss political involvement:

We, believing a closer union in the bonds of friendship to be for our mutual benefit, appreciating the advantages to be derived from a secret fraternity, and feeling that in union there is strength, hereby form ourselves into an association for the development of nobler qualities of the mind and finer feelings of the heart, and for mutual helpfulness in the attainment of individual and social excellence.

Nor does our mission statement, adopted in 1980, explicitly discuss politics:

Kappa Kappa Gamma is an organization of women, which seeks for every member throughout her life bonds of friendship, mutual support, opportunities for self growth, respect for intellectual development, and an understanding of and allegiance to positive ethical principles.

Because our stated purpose does not directly mention political involvement and because ultimately the decision to participate in the democratic process is a personal one, I do not feel that Kappa is failing in its purpose by not requiring voter registration of its members.

When you consider the founding purposes of the NPHC organizations, however, the question takes on a different look. I pulled these off of the organizational websites (all emphasis is mine):

The objectives of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. are to stimulate the ambition of its members; to prepare them for the greatest usefulness in the cause of humanity, freedom, and dignity of the individual; to encourage the highest and noblest form of manhood; and to aid downtrodden humanity in its efforts to achieve higher social, economic, and intellectual status.

In realizing its mission, Delta Sigma Theta provides an extensive array of public service through its Five-Point Program Thrust of Physical and Mental Health, Educational Development, Economic Development, International Awareness and Involvement, and Political Awareness and Involvement.

NPHC: Working together to achieve educational, social, economic, and political empowerment.

So when you look at the stated missions of the NPHC organizations, it makes quite a lot of sense that they should require that their members be registered to vote in their country of citizenship. How else are they going to achieve their goals?