August 2004
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August 2004 |
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Message from the Senior Province Vice PolemarchBrothers,
First allow me to extend to you my appreciation for electing me and providing me the opportunity to represent your needs and concerns as your Senior Province Vice Polemarch. I consider it an honor and privilege and I will not take your confidence lightly.
As I pledged, I will bring your ideas and thoughts to the Province Board of Directors as well as become more accessible providing you with greater representation.
There are new procedures and many challenges that face our Province. But, with your help and the guidance, leadership and methodical approach of our Province Polemarch we can overcome and meet these challenges head-on.
One of theses changes has to do with how we conduct our Membership Orientation Intake Program (MOIP). In the next few weeks and during the CRWLC in Kirksville, MO, I have been charged to provide training to all chapters, Chapter Advisors, and Membership Intake Chairmen on the revised Membership Orientation and Intake Program redesigned by Grand Chapter.
This is a completely revamped MOIP which will govern how all intake will be accomplished in the future and becomes effective August 31, 2004. It consists of a five step approach:
Our accountability to our own words comes into play as a critical aspect of personal responsibility. When we make decisions and take action, we must be willing to be accountable for what we have undertaken. This does not mean that we do not sometimes err or fail, for if we never fail perhaps we are not setting our targets very high. We are being accountable for our own actions when we are willing to take responsibility for change and accept the consequences.
MOIP is only the launching platform. The ongoing commitment is to take personal responsibility for the orientation and retention of new members through total commitment to the objectives of our Fraternity and deciding how best to achieve them in your chapter.
Change is a challenge - working with others who share your commitment to the process, to influence the few doubters can help you bring these changes about.
If you have any questions or need additional information please don't hesitate to contact me via email at SeniorVicePolemarch@KAPsiMWP.com or call me at 405-850-8382.
Yours in the Bond,
Berry H. Pitts, III - Senior Province Vice Polemarch
Middle Western Province
SeniorVicePolemarch@KAPsiMWP.com
In the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the NAACP, through its attorneys - including Thurgood Marshall, played a pivotal role in the U. S. Supreme Court decision to affirm the goal of equality of educational opportunities for all children. Nearly fifty years after the Brown decision, the Association recognizes that several racial inequities still persist in many of our nation's schools. There are clear and consistent racial disparities in the annual number of minority students suspended from school and overrepresented among students with mental retardation in special education. For the over four million students who are still learning English, commonly referred to as English Language Learners (EELs) or Limited English Proficient (LEP) students, these racial inequities are compounded by language barriers and inadequate services. The data shows that where the educational benefits of a resource are clear - such as high-quality teachers, smaller class sizes, high-quality curriculum materials, effective early childhood programs, access to advanced courses, and entrance into best college - minority students, especially black and Latino students, are consistently resources-deprived in comparison to white students.
The Brown decision embodied in our law the fundamental insights that separate is never equal. The fact that the educational achievement gap is growing in an age of pronounced school resegregation highlights the unfulfilled promise of Brown. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People call for action includes a demand for resources equity for minority students; the NAACP remains a dependable ally in the fight for diversity and the desegregation of our nation's schools.
Educational agencies across the nation had proclaimed that their goal is to "Leave No Child Behind," but many of these agencies lack the strategic plans and community support to reach their goal. The facts are clear: the persistent failure of schools to provide equality of opportunity for all students is having a devastating impact on communities of color and the future of our nation. The adverse impact of these inequities is long-term and is reflected in racial disparities not only in education but in future employment, poverty, and incarceration rates.
These gross disparities in educational quality and achievement demonstrate the need for federal, state, and local educational agencies to partner with community agents. Together, these partners must develop and implement strategies to remove racial disparities and improve the quality of education in the district, state, and country.
General Counsel Report
One such instance arose in April of this year (2004) when the Superior Court of the District of Columbia issued an order in Kappa Alpha Psi v. Robert Jenkins, et al., granting the defendants' motion for summary judgment and dismissed the Fraternity's case. The incorrect scuttle-butt that resulted from the court's ruling indicated the Fraternity suffered a resounding defeat and that offenders are now free to conduct themselves in any manner they wish, without fear of recourse. That is not what the court said.
You might remember from a previous General Counsel's Report that the Fraternity sued for breach of contract, slander, and infringement of the fraternal name and identity. The suit sought $20 million in compensatory damages, $11 million in punitive damages, attorneys fees, costs of litigation, and injunctive relief to restrain the defendants from any illegal use of the fraternity name, rituals, paraphernalia, or gestures.
The activity in question, a "coming out show," occurred on or about April 28, 2001 at Emery Park in Washington, D.C. and was part of another non-sanctioned event called "Kappa Cool Out." The Province Polemarch had specifically banned the event before it occurred and published the prohibition in the local campus newspaper.
In ruling for the defendants, it is important to point out that the court did not say the Fraternity could not sue on the theories in the case. The court merely held that the Fraternity did not present enough evidence to substantiate the claims made against the defendants. The court impliedly acknowledged the validity of all the claims on which the Fraternity sued but found insufficient evidence to allow the case to go to trial.
On the breach of contract claim, the court found that merely citing the ritualistic oath was not enough to establish a binding contract without written evidence or "paperwork memorializing the oath the defendant members allegedly took." The court also ruled that the Fraternity did not show that it suffered damages as a result of the breach. But, the court also said the Fraternity did not have to prove damages with mathematical certainty but only had to "provide a reasonable basis on which to estimate damages."
On the slander claim, the court did not say the claim was not good, it only said that "Kappa ...failed to state with specificity the actual words defendants spoke." Again, the problem was not with the claim itself but with the evidence, or lack thereof, needed to support the claim.
Finally, the court addressed the claim of Infringement of the Fraternity name. Once again, the court recognized the validity of the claim, but held the Fraternity had not "shown that it has patented, copyrighted, or trademarked any of the...gestures or symbols used by defendants." It was merely a lack of evidence needed to prove up the claim.
So offenders should not take heart that these suits by the Fraternity will now go away. You can bet your bottom dollar that this is still a viable tool at the Fraternity's disposal and the next case will have sufficient presentation of evidence to survive this type of court challenge. The new sheriff is still in town and you better believe he is reloading his Uzi for another attack.
Other Notes
Playboy Does Not Play
Quick Notes on Hazing
A jury awarded the estate of a pledge 12.6 million dollars against Kappa Sigma. The pledge drowned in seven feet of water during a pledge activity. The Fraternity's insurance carrier denied coverage on the basis that the loss occurred from illegal pledge activity.
Four members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity were expelled from Southern Methodist University in Dallas Texas after forcing candidates to drink hot sauce and excessive amounts of water during an illegal pledge activity. One candidate suffered serious injury after inhaling the hot sauce and vomit into his lungs. He was in the hospital for a week. The four expelled individuals and four others were indicted on felony assault charges and they face up to 20 years in prison for the offense.
Again, YOU ARE WARNED.
Welcome back young brothers. Enjoy your school year and please, BE SMART.
Until next time, I am
Yours in the Bond,
Reuben A. Shelton (Past Province Polemarch)
General Counsel
Middle Western Province
GeneralCounsel@KAPsiMWP.com
[Our good Brother Gerald Jordan of the Fayetteville (AR) Alumni Chapter received this award on Friday, April 23, 2004. This is a very prestigious national honor and Brother Jordan is the first professor ever to win this award in the history of the University of Arkansas.]
To that end, Gerald Jordan, an associate professor of print journalism in the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism, is a fitting recipient of this year's award.
Mr. Jordan came to the journalism department in 1995, from The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he was a Washington correspondent. He became an assigning editor for The Inquirer in 1989 and worked in the suburbs and on the City Desk before he was named North Zone editor, with responsibility for a two-county edition, which reached about 110,000 readers. He has also worked for The Kansas City Star and The Boston Globe.
Helping to serve Arkansas and the world, Mr. Jordan and his wife, Elizabeth, an instructor in the special education program in the College of Education and Health Professions, take active roles in promoting and supporting the University of Arkansas.
He is faculty advisor to the student newspaper, the Arkansas Traveler, and has successfully coached students interested in obtaining newspaper internships and those offered by journalism professional associations. He has been key in the continued success of the journalism department's High School Journalism Workshop. Over a two-month period, he works with minority high school students - most of them Latino - from Rogers, Springdale, and Fayetteville to produce a student newspaper. The workshop helps recruit students to UA journalism and has met with overwhelming approval from parents, teachers, and community leaders.
Mr. Jordan serves on the board of directors of the Arkansas Alumni Association and the Eemke Journalism Society and is a member of the journalism department's scholarship committee. He completed two terms as president of the Black Alumni Society, and he continues to work with the chancellor to recruit, retain, and support talented African-American and other minority students, staff, and faculty.
He has served on several UA search committees and is chairman of the search committee to hire an associate vice chancellor for institutional diversity and education. He serves on advisory committees for the Center for Arkansas Regional Studies and the Arkansas Center on Oral and Visual History. He is also a part of the team of faculty facilitating the Clinton History Project, a multi-year initiative to chronicle the life of the nation's 42nd president.
Gerald Jordan is a 1970 UA journalism graduate, a 1971 master's graduate from Northwestern University, and was a Harvard University Nieman Fellow in 1982.
The Volunteer of the Year award recognizes extraordinary loyalty, service, and leadership to the University of Arkansas and its programs.
Brother Shannon Armstrong, Past Vice Polemarch of the Wichita Metropolitan Area Chapter, the Delta Upsilon of Kappa Alpha Psi, is pictured on the award stand with trophies for winning the 110 hurdles, 100 dash, 200 meter dash, and anchor in the 4x100 meter relay. The two large trophies are for MVP of the meet and Most Outstanding Performer of the meet. Congratulations, Brother Armstrong!
It's been a very busy and exciting summer for the Independence (MO) Alumni Chapter. In addition to welcoming three new initiates, the summer has been filled with various community related activities.
The Chapter had 8 members sworn in as Deputy Registrars to assist in the massive voter registration effort that is ongoing in the greater Kansas City Metro Area as well as all parts of the country by members of Independence Alumni.
On Saturday, July 31st, with their Polemarch Thomas Brown, Jr., the chapter hosted their second "Every Brother Bring a Brother Home to Kappa - Family and Reclamation Picnic" at Longview Lake in Lees Summit, Missouri. The event had been rescheduled due to rainy weather the previous weekend and was an overwhelming success with visitors from the Jefferson City and Kansas City Alumni Chapters joining the Independence Alumni members and their families on a day filled with plenty of food and entertainment. A wonderful time was had by all.
In their continuing efforts to maintain an active presence in the community, Independence Alumni hosted a community voter registration drive on Saturday, August 21, 2004, in conjunction with Bowers CME Church of which Brother Wayne Mays is Pastor. The event was on the steps of the church (located in Kansas City, Missouri) from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The chapter is also planning to participate in the Kansas Black Expo in Topeka, Kansas, August 24th-28th.
With their new Chapter officers in place, look for more new and exciting things from the Independence Alumni Chapter in the very near future.
This year's theme "A Call For Action For Safety belt use within the African American and Hispanic Communities" was held Friday April 30, 2004.
The Luncheon was the kickoff of this year's campaign to get the word out about the disproportionate numbers of minorities dying in traffic crashes and how by raising awareness and to focus on changing behavior to increase seatbelt use among minorities we can save lives. This campaign is an extension of Kappa Alpha Psi's national campaign with the NHTSA entitled Buckle Up With Kappa. The campaign is an intensive education and action campaign as part of the fraternity's ongoing participation in worthwhile initiatives.
Statistics show that African American and Hispanics are less likely than whites to wear seat belts; motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for African Americans through age 14. They are the second leading cause of death between the ages of 15-24. Motor vehicles crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics ages 1-44.
When we don't buckle up our children don't buckle either. We can and must do something to stop endangering our lives and the lives of those we love.
The event was hosted by Ms. Romell Cooks, Regional Administrator of NHTSA's Region VII, and was attended by over 100 representatives from Kansas and Missouri community organizations and law enforcement agencies.
Keynote speaker Otis B Cox Jr., Deputy Administrator NHTSA, spoke of the implementation of the 5-step approach to educate the African American, Hispanic communities and the general public, to increase awareness and law enforcement enforcing the seatbelt and child restraint laws.
Brothers in attendance included Chapter Polemarch Thomas J. Brown Jr., and Brothers Terry S. Milan, Wayne W. Mays, Roland B. Rhoades and Michael L. Banks. The Chapter is currently making plans to participate in several initiatives throughout the year promoting seatbelt safety awareness.
2004 -2005 Officers
Independence Alumni Members Attend Minority Community Leadership Luncheon
Brother Hershell Cox (Scholarship Chairman), Scholarship Recipient Timothy Williams of Central High School and the Truman Medical Center Steps Program, and Chapter Polemarch Thomas Brown
Chapter Polemarch Thomas Brown, Brother Reginald May, Scholarship Recipient Darian Nave of F. L. Schlagle High School, and Scholarship Chairman, Brother Hershell Cox
Independence Alumni Chapter Scholarship Recipient
Bryan Bosley of Central High School
The next C. Rodger Wilson Leadership Conference will be held on Saturday, September 18th, and will be hosted by the Truman State University Chapter, the Epsilon Eta of Kappa Alpha Psi, in Kirksville, Missouri. Registration for the conference is $30 per member. The host hotel for the conference will be the Days Inn on Highway 63 South. The cost of rooms will be $50 per night and reservations may be made by calling the hotel at 660-665-8244.
ALL brothers are invited to attend the conference. However, in order for your chapter to be "certified" to operate as a chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, the chapter officers who are REQUIRED to attend a C. Rodger Wilson Leadership Conference are the Chapter Polemarch, Vice Polemarch, Keeper of Records, Keeper of Exchequer, Membership Intake Chairman, and Undergraduate Chapter Advisor(s). If any of those officers are not present in Kirksville, the next available opportunity will not occur until February, 2005.
There will be no Cluster Initiation held in Kirksville during our visit there. The next Cluster Initiation will be held on November 19th and 20th in Kansas City, Missouri. Chapters that wish to participate in that Cluster Initiation must be represented at the C. Rodger Wilson Leadership Conference in Kirksville in order to receive training for the new and improved "Membership Orientation and Intake Program." (Note the name change.)
Please send your $30 registration fee as soon as possible to our Province Headquarters at:
Should you have any questions, you may direct them to the Province Polemarch at Polemarch@KAPsiMWP.com.
If your chapter wishes to participate in the next Cluster Initiation to be held in Kansas City on November 19th and 20th, you must have proper representation at the C. Rodger Wilson Leadership Conference on September 18th in Kirksville, Missouri. Also, you must submit a "Letter of Intent" to the Province Polemarch. That letter may be conveyed via e-mail addressed to Polemarch@KAPsiMWP.com. You must receive the Province Polemarch's approval prior to conducting ANY intake activity, including the Informational Meeting.
October 1st is a "crimson letter day" for our fraternity, it is the beginning of our NEW FISCAL YEAR. As is always the case at this time of year, several forms and reports require your chapter's attention, as well as some financial matters that are of importance to chapters AND individuals. If you haven't already taken care of these items, there is still time to fulfill your obligations before the NEW FISCAL YEAR begins.
The forms may be found on the FORMS page of our province website. Questions may be directed to the Province Keeper of Records and Exchquer at KeeperOfRecords@KAPsiMWP.com or 405-CD-KAPPA (235-2772).
Province Life MembershipThe Middle Western Province offers a Province Life Membership that is available to the first 100 members who pay the one-time fee of $600. That cost will increase to $800 effective October 1, 2004. Participants are absolved from the payment of Province Dues for life. The Province Life Membership Program does not absolve participants from their obligation to pay Grand Chapter and Local Chapter Dues and/or assessments. Each Province Life Member will receive a lapel pin, certificate, and numbered identification card.
A Subscribing Life Membership Program is also available for an initial payment of $230, with a payment of $230 in the second consecutive year, and a final payment of $200 in the third consecutive year. Effective October 1, 2004, the costs will increase to $300 for the initial payment, with annual payments of $300 and $280 in the following two years
Payments may be charged to your Visa or Mastercard, or you may send your personal check or money order to our Province Headquarters at:
We now have twenty-nine fully paid Province Life Members. Congratulations to our brothers whose names will forever be engraved in the archives and history of the Middle Western Province . . .
Brothers, we have a CHAPTER INVISIBLE page on our province website, and we need your assistance in making it more accurate. We request that you review that site and provide updates to our Province Keeper of Records and Exchequer. Please help us fill in the blanks and also provide us with any additional brothers to be memorialized.
The Middle Western Province Virtual Museum is slowly but surely growing. The site is designed to preserve and display documents, photos and other articles of historical significance about chapters in our province, as well as our province-at-large. For this project to be successful and grow even more, we ask each of you to examine your archives in search of items that would be appropriate for inclusion in the museum. Many chapters are not yet represented here. Our highest priority at the moment has to do with the kinds of items that MUST be digitized for permanent keep before they might be destroyed by deterioration or otherwise lost forever.
Obviously a work in progress, we will eventually provide "captions" for items currently archived in our museum that are not self-explanatory. As you submit items for inclusion, we ask that you provide an accompanying explanation where appropriate. For instructions on how to submit documents and photos in a suitable format, please contact our Museum Curator at Museum@KAPsiMWP.com.
E-Mail Addresses
The technology of the Internet has become more than a luxury in the year 2004. Business and personal communication is now "defined" by an E-mail address and connection to the World Wide Web. Our province is clearly committed to the maximum use of this medium, and we can only be successful with your help. Should you change your E-mail address, please remember to notify us as soon as possible. And please help us identify every other member of our province who may have access to this technology. Spread the word!
25 Year Membership Pin
Pictured above, the pin is circular in design, slightly smaller than a quarter, and cast in a silver color. It is wrapped in a laurel wreath, emblazoned with the number "25" in the center with a small nugget below the number, and the words "Middle Western Province" around the bottom with "Kappa Alpha Psi" around the top on a crimson band.
We have restocked our supply and the cost is $25 each. Contact our Province Keeper of Records & Exchequer to purchase your pin today. Don't miss this one! Order NOW!
The Middle Western Province has authorized the production of a Twenty-Five Year Membership Pin to recognize those members who were initiated at least twenty-five years ago. The project was approved on a proposal from Brother Robert I. Mayes, Sr. of the Tulsa Alumni Chapter, and the proceeds are used to help fund our several and varied philanthropic programs and other financial obligations.
