Kappa is more than a ritual or secret…
Over the past days I have reflected on many things I learned and was taught over the years. Many times I keep drifting back to my early years in Kappa Alpha Psi. Some of the things I was taught are summed up below.
Most of my feelings and the quality to which I was taught are summed up in the article in the Kappa Journal* (February 2010 - pg. 54) and the article is titled "Who Taught You to Guard the Secret Kappa Valut?"
In it Brother George Chavis says the following (only excerpts printed for copyright and length reasons):
When it comes to [just] revealing our secrets, I'm definitely against that...
A good brother said to me: 'I could care less if an outsider knows what Phi Nu Pi is-- I understand it, I live it, and I know what it means to thousands of good brothers who have gone before me, and to thousands of brothers with whom I share it.'...
It shouldn't be what we KNOW, but what we DO that defines us...
Clearly, knowing the translation of 'Phi Nu Pi' does not make you a Kappa, neither does understanding its meaning...
does the possession of this knowledge make anyone a Kappa in the sense intended by our revered Founders? And what about the thousands of us who faithfully discharge our oaths and regularly sustain the fraternity and its goals--does our knowledge of the translation and understanding of Phi Nu Pi alone make us Kappas?
I say it does not...
The "knowing" is not the end, it is the "doing" and the "being" of "Phi Nu Pi" that makes us Kappas. If every person in the world knew the definition of "Phi Nu Pi," it wouldn't interfere with "... who we are, and what we do..." And, if by their knowing, the world acted upon that knowledge as we do, that that's all the better for the world and Kappa Alpha Psi.
So to all those who hate on us and to those who look upon us with disrespect think of it like this.
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What are YOU doing to change this world?
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What are you doing to leave a better legacy to the next generation?
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Are you just surviving through life or are you taking steps to change the world for the better?
Those are some of the things Kappa Alpha Psi stands for. Those are the things we try to achieve. And those are the things that, when you really look at it, really matter.
*the Kappa Journal is published by Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. Subscriptions are done through Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity in Philadelphia