"I am a man!" Mokhele shouted as he ran to join his fellow initiates.

A week after the boys' circumcisions at a mountain retreat south of Johannesburg, Mokhele suffered in silence when instructors lashed him and three others for forgetting the words of a traditional song. The four were forced to spend the cold night stripped naked, far from the campfire where 18 other initiates huddled. The temperature dipped below freezing that night - June 24, winter in the Southern Hemisphere - and by daybreak all four lay dead.

Mokhele and his mates were the latest casualties of a centuries-old tradition: initiation camps that can last weeks or months at which adolescent boys are taught the way of manhood and are ritually circumcised. The secretive camps - at which tribal elders traditionally pass on lessons about adult responsibility and marriage - are revered by three-quarters of black male South Africans who have endured them for the right to be called men by their peers.

Every year, hundreds of youths return maimed or infected with HIV by botched circumcisions - performed without anesthetic and often with dirty razors - police and health officials say. A few dozen die from infections or severe beatings. The deaths of Mokhele and his friends last month, and the beating death of a fifth youngster at a nearby initiation camp, have revived debate about the role of traditional rites in modern South Africa.

The initiation camps are run by every major black South African ethnic group except Zulus. Traditionally, the rites were supervised by experienced initiators appointed by tribal chiefs. But in recent years inexperienced entrepreneurs eager to collect initiation fees have taken over many, said Mahlubandile Mageda, a health department spokesman in Eastern Cape province, which has passed a law regulating the camps.

Despite the dangers, most boys from rural areas and poor townships like Ratanda - a group of tin shacks 30 miles south of Johannesburg - go into the woods willingly, most of them with their families' support.

"Freddie wanted to finish the circumcision school no matter what," said Mzwke Radebe, 16, lying in a hospital bed with a frostbitten right foot. He was one of many survivors of the camp where Mokhele died who had to be hospitalized, most for injuries from exposure.

For adherents of South Africa's traditional cultures, these rites of passage define what it means to be a man, creating a lifetime bond of brotherhood.

Every winter, young men led by their elders shed their clothing and disappear into the woods, where they dab their bodies with a white clay and endure the cold and injuries suffered in mock battles. They learn esoteric songs and rituals, absorbing the codes of secret societies in which a word or signal marks membership in a respected fraternity.

"It's about group identity, a mysterious, existential transformation into manhood, a clear marking by society that you have ascended to a position of gravitas," said anthropologist David Hammond-Tooke, who has specialized in African traditions as a professor at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape province.

Except among a few small tribes and the Zulus - whose 19th-century warrior king, Shaka Zulu, outlawed circumcision because the lengthy ritual took men away from battle - "It would be as hard to find an uncircumcised man...[among South Africa's blacks] as it would be in Israel," Hammond-Tooke said.

Former President Nelson Mandela recounts his circumcision at 16, "In my tradition, an uncircumcised male cannot be heir to his father's wealth, cannot marry or officiate in tribal rituals," Mandela recalled in his autobiography. "It is not just a surgical procedure, but a lengthy and elaborate ritual in preparation for manhood."

But in modern South Africa, these rituals can run counter to cold realities. In a country with the world's highest HIV infection rate, a circumcision done with a dirty instrument can be a death sentence.

Eastern Cape province's attempt to regulate the camps is "a sensitive issue because you are dealing with people's traditions," Mageda said. "But we have cracked down on those who abuse the tradition for greed and profit." And in Gauteng province, five teachers at the camp where the four Ratanda initiates died were charged with murder, underlining the government's determination to crack down on those who turn the tradition into a brutal hazing.

Federal authorities are reluctant to set standards for the camps, though, and each winter brings grief to more like Rosy Mdaki, Freddie Mokhele's mother. "No mother should go through what I am going through," Mdaki said. "His life was taken for nothing."

Amos Mkhwanazi, 21, was carried back to his family last month in a body bag after trying to escape the school. He was lashed with sticks 462 times, twice by each initiate, including his nephew, and 50 times by each instructor, witnesses said. "I am heartbroken," said Mkhwanazi's sister Ntombizodwa, whose son was one of those made to beat her brother.

Our province EMPORIUM offers quality Kappa paraphernalia that may be ordered via e-mail. Shipping is FREE in the continental U.S. for most items, with prompt delivery assured. Shop for yourself or purchase gifts for others.

Chapter advisors are a critical component of our noble clan. They are the fraternity's guidance counselors for our undergraduates and our foot soldiers or first line defense against the senseless, insane acts of brutality that have plagued our integrity and strained our coffers. Advisors put a lot on the line and we owe them our gratitude but, more importantly, our support and guidance to help them do a vital job.

This need for support is highlighted in a recent appellate court ruling in Pennsylvania in a case styled Satana Kenner v. Kappa Alpha Psi. In that case, Kenner sued the Fraternity and several members, including the chapter advisor and certain other officials of Kappa, for personal injury sustained from hazing activities. The trial court entered judgment, without trial, in favor of the Fraternity, the chapter advisor, and the member officials. The trial court concluded that none of those defendants owed a duty of care to Kenner. Kenner then appealed the trial court's ruling to the intermediate appellate court in Pennsylvania and, in an opinion filed June 19, 2002, the appellate court changed the trial court's ruling in several very important ways.

The court, first, found the Fraternity has a duty to candidates to protect them from hazing activity, contrary to the lower court ruling. The appellate court found that because candidates pay an application fee to Grand Chapter for membership, there is, at a minimum, a contractual relationship that creates obligations for both parties (candidate and Fraternity). The court also found that hazing action, and the resulting harm from it, are clearly foreseeable and is in society's interest to prevent such activities. Based on these findings, the court found a Fraternity duty to protect candidates from acts of hazing. The good news is that, although the court found there is a duty, it also found the Fraternity did not violate or breach that duty with respect to Kenner and upheld the lower court's ultimate ruling that the Fraternity is not liable for plaintiff's injuries.

Likewise, the appellate court found the individual defendants also have a duty to guard against hazing but that Kenner failed to show how they breached any duty of care to him and upheld the trial court's ruling dismissing those folks from the case.

The chapter advisor did not fair as well. The appellate court reversed the trial court's ruling and sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings on the advisor. The court found the advisor failed to perform his duties in several respects and such failure could form the basis for liability under negligence principles of law. The court found the advisor allowed an "interest meeting" at a time when such meetings were not allowed. The court further noted the advisor failed to discuss hazing with the candidates and did not advise them of various Executive Orders, or provisions in the Fraternity Constitution and statutes regarding hazing. The court finally noted that the advisor did not understand the membership intake process and did not adequately monitor chapter activities that occurred after the informational meeting. The court, essentially, found there is enough factual basis upon which a jury could find the advisor failed to sufficiently do what is, minimally, required of chapter advisors.

This type of ruling could send chapter advisors running for the hills but there are simple safeguards against these types of lawsuits. KNOW YOUR JOB, DO YOUR JOB. Here are ten (10) simple rules for chapter advisors to protect themselves against this type of attack.

1. Thoroughly learn all the details of the intake manual/process and follow them religiously.
2. Thoroughly learn provisions of all Executive Orders, the Constitution, and Statutes of the Fraternity. Then, discuss, in detail, applicable provisions with all new candidates and chapter members.
3. Document your relationship with your chapter. Put in writing what you demand and expect of chapter members and what they can expect from you.
4. The chapter should never meet without your presence (you should document this requirement in your expectations).
5. Remember, you are the chapter advisor, first. The members' friendships are secondary to your mission and duties.
6. Never overlook chapter transgressions and immediately act upon them, report them, and document them appropriately.
7. Rarely delegate your duties and responsibilities. When you have to delegate, do so to individuals who will perform your duties as you would.
8. Stay in frequent contact with chapter members. Constantly keep current on chapter activities.
9. Don't fear saying "no" to inappropriate chapter/member activities.
10. Take tremendous pride in your job and what you do for the Fraternity.

Until next time, I am . . .

     Personalized invoices for FY03 Province Dues have been sent via e-mail to 545 members for whom we have e-mail addresses. Another 2,158 will be sent via postal delivery during the month of August to those members who reside in our province but who have not yet shared their e-mail address with us, or who don't yet have an e-mail address.

     Your Province Dues are due on or before October 1st, and are delinquent after November 30th. You may pay your dues by sending a check to our Province Headquarters, or you may charge your dues on your Visa or Mastercard via e-mail or by telephone at 405-CD-KAPPA (235-2772). Our mailing address is:

     The cost of annual dues is $30 for alumni members or $15 for those undergraduates who may still be in school beyond the date of graduation that was anticipated when they were initiated. Brothers, please don't wait until Spring. Send your dues NOW!

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Province Life Membership

     The Middle Western Province now offers a Province Life Membership that is available to the first 100 members who pay the one-time fee of $600. 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.

     Payments may be charged to your Visa or Mastercard, or you may send your personal check or money order to our Province Headquarters at:

Middle Western Province Headquarters
636 N.E. 36th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

     Questions may be directed to our Province Keeper of Records & Exchequer.

     The first three Life Members of our province are not only from the same chapter (Denver Alumni), they're also from the same family, a father and his two sons. Congratulations to our brothers whose names will forever be engraved in the archives and history of the Middle Western Province . . .

• 001 - Elbert Dean Brown, Sr.
• 002 - Mark G. Brown
• 003 - Elbert Dean Brown, Jr.

     There are only 97 Life Memberships remaining. Act now!