National Pan-Hellenic fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi has returned to Emory after five years of inactivation.

The historically black fraternity, which first came to campus in 1984 and was officially chartered three years later, was deactivated by national headquarters in order to make internal changes, according to Kappa Psi Polemarch, or President, Colin Washington. Washington and two other College sophomores, Benjamin Hayes and Jason Williamson, College junior Kyle Black and College senior Chadwick Hixon were initiated on Nov. 13 and held the probate ceremony the following week.

“Our national headquarters decided to reactivate the chapter at Emory,” Chapter Adviser Marc Adams said. “Kappa Psi has something called a Membership Orientation Intake Process (MOIP) in which prospective members learn about the fraternity on a national level, on a regional level and on a local level.”

Once prospective members have gone through MOIP and prove they have gained sufficient knowledge, they are initiated into the fraternity, Adams said.

The fraternity does not allow hazing or negative treatment during the membership process, according to Adams, who also served as the national adviser in the 1990s.

“It’s an educational process,” Washington said. “You really learn about the fraternity’s legacy.”

The legacy, Washington added, comes from the lifelong commitment to Kappa Psi.

“Once you become a member, it’s nearly impossible for you to lose membership,” he said.

Washington said his father and his grandfather have been members of Kappa Psi.

“Historical black fraternities and sororities are more than an undergraduate experience,” Adams said. “We have a collegiate experience as well as an alumni experience; it’s more of a lifelong commitment rather than a four-year college commitment.”

Kappa Psi was “founded on the basis of achievement,” Washington said.

Adams said the history of members, who have gone on to be influential members of the community, is indicative of the purpose of the fraternity.

“We’re about community service,” Adams said. “Everyone is striving to do better and to help raise the level of consciousness and the level of achievement for the Emory community and the Atlanta community in general.”

The fraternity, Adams added, is not just about the social life.

“You’re in college to be a student, not to be a member of a fraternity,” Washington said.

Kappa Psi is one of many Greek organizations that have returned to campus or began new chapters at Emory. In 2007, Omega Psi Phi was rechartered and last spring, Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) was re-established after five years. National Pan-Hellenic sorority Zeta Phi Beta was recognized by the Intersorority Council as a colony last fall.

More than a hundred supporters attended the probate ceremony to support the new Rho line of the Nu Delta chapter.

The probate was a “coming out show for the members of the fraternity to introduce themselves to the Emory community,” according to Adams.

The event, Washington said, was an exhibition where members sang songs and recited some of the fraternity’s history.

— Contact Alice Chen