The Changing Face of Vandy
This fall semester I had a very special Homecoming weekend. Of course Homecoming weekend is always fun because of the game, parties, and everything else but this year’s I got to experience even more than a great tailgate. I spent a portion of this Homecoming weekend showing around a Vanderbilt alumnus who was also one of the founding members of my fraternity’s chapter at Vanderbilt University. My fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, was first brought to Vanderbilt’s campus in 1986. While this is young in comparison to some of the oldest Greek houses on campus, the establishment of Kappa at Vandy is no small feat.
Kappa Alpha Psi is one of the 9 historically Black Greek Letter Organizations that make up the National Pan Hellenic Council (NPHC). 8 of those organizations currently have chapters at Vanderbilt, including my chapter, the Nu Rho Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi. Though our chapters don’t have the long history that many of the IFC or Pan-Hellenic chapters on our campus have, we still make a meaningful mark on the Vanderbilt community, particularly the minority community.
As I toured the alumni brother around campus he was surprised by the numbers of African-American students he saw walking around. As we entered the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center (BCC) he recounted his days at Vanderbilt in the 80s when all the Black students on campus could have a party in a small room in the BCC that now serves as a conference room. I was astounded that such a room could contain all the students.
Over the years Vanderbilt has become an increasingly diverse campus, as evidenced by programs such as MOSAIC as well as the expansion of the NPHC. One of the things I love most about Vanderbilt is that commitment to bringing in driven and talented students from all places and passions in the world. Even among my Fraternity brothers there is much diversity. We come from places such as the Dominican Republic and Chicago and study things ranging from Civil Engineering to Religious Studies to Economics to African American Diaspora Studies. Vanderbilt has been one of the few places in my life where such a level of diversity of background, outlook, and passion was not just present, but accepted and encouraged.