When students leave home for college, finding a sense of community is crucial to the success of students. They need supporters they can lean on when classes are getting stressful, and they need friends they can rely on for anything. Whether it is within the organization itself or the local community they provide service for, fraternities within Northwestern State University of Louisiana’s National Pan-Hellenic Council provide just that.
The NPHC brings a sense of unity between the Divine 9 historical Black fraternities and sororities: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. NSU doesn’t currently have active chapters for the Iota Phi Theta fraternity and Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, but all provide unity to their members.
“The importance of the NPHC is that, even though we are different organizations, we can still come together for the upliftment of the community,” Joshua Robertson said.
Robertson is a senior at NSU with a hospitality management and tourism major and a minor in culinary arts. Additionally, he is the corresponding secretary of NSU’s Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Robertson was motivated by Alpha Phi Alpha’s work uplifting the community, which led him to join.
“To tell the truth, I wasn’t going to go Greek coming into college,” Robertson said. “The thing that gravitated me to Greek life was seeing the way Alpha was helping the campus and community along with some guys that I’m proud to call my brothers: Matt Nelson, Darrin Nixon and William Roberson.”
Within NSU’s Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, brothers make lifelong friends. The communities that NPHC fraternities provide impact the students that join.
“The NPHC can serve as a safe space for people of color and others who feel like they have no place or community on campus,” Phillip Parker said. “It provides support, family, bonds and opportunities that will last you for the rest of your life.
Parker, junior history major, is the Vice President of NSU’s Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. A niche community is a necessity for college students, and Parker was able to find his place within his fraternity.
“Growing up, I never really felt like I had a support system or a place where I could truly be myself to my fullest,” Parker said. “I saw that, in the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity I could be myself as an individual while also having the support system I wanted growing up.”
Being a part of NPHC provides people of color with friends they can confide in and relate to, but also role models to look up to.
“The men that were leaders and influencers in their local communities is what led me to Kappa Alpha Psi,” Caiden Matthews said.
Matthews is a junior business administration major who is NSU’s NPHC 2024 President and Vice Polemarch for NSU’s Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He was inspired to join Kappa Alpha Psi by those who presented themselves as great role models through their leadership skills within the fraternity and community.
“I feel the NPHC frats are very important to society because our purpose and service to the world is to better society,” Matthews said.
Hosting community service events and volunteer work is a large factor of all the NPHC fraternities. They work to better their communities, society and world whether it is by hosting a study session with their brothers or hosting a clothing donation event.
“The NPHC is a vital part of Black history,” Matthews said. “We spread awareness through educational, economic and cultural service activities, which are all important to the Black community.”
Each of these fraternities have events planned for Black History Month. Tune into their socials (@nsula_nphc on Instagram) to keep an eye out for other upcoming events hosted by NSU’s NPHC fraternities and sororities.
