NPHC holds Meet the Greeks

Shaun Lester photo

Members of The Divine Nine have tables set up outside of the Trojan Center.

Troy University's National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) held a “Meet the Greeks” event

outside on the Trojan Center patio on Friday. This social event gave a chance for non-members to learn more about the organizations.

The NPHC is represented by “The Divine Nine,” which are historically Black fraternities

and sororities. Each organization was represented on the patio with a table explaining its

histories and what makes them different from other Greek life.

“It is a bunch of organizations, fraternities and sororities, just meeting together, getting

interest of the young college students and telling them what our organizations are about,” said Xavier Harris, the secretary of the executive board of the NPHC and a member of the Theta Phi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, who is a junior general business major from Wetumpka, Alabama.

While it gave the organizations a chance to reach out to the students, it also showed

Black students there is a community for them.

"It is the last day of February, which is Black History Month, and we want to show

representation of black figures, organizations and communities in our culture,” Harris said.

Other members in the organizations explained the importance of sharing their history.

“Being here today, we are honoring some key members of Black history from our

organizations that some people may not know,” said Nevaeh White, the president of the Mu

Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, who is a senior social work major from Montgomery,

Alabama. “Former Vice President Kamala Harris is a member of our organization, and so is

Rosa Parks.

“We hope this event was successful and allowed the students to learn more about us.”

The NPHC was founded because white Greek organizations did not want to be affiliated

with the Black organizations. Black Greek organizations then formed the original NPHC council, thus creating the “Divine Nine.” The four female groups are Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho and Zeta Phi Beta. The five male groups are Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma and Iota Phi Theta.

To stay up to date on future NPHC events, follow them on Instagram @troynphc.