XI CHAPTER CELEBRATIONS
Key Historical Points on Xi Chapter
T he Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi has a long history of pro- ducing campus leaders who graduate to become leaders in the fraternity, government, business, religion, medicine, education, law, mili- tary, and other fields. Within the HU community, Xi members throughout the years held numerous campus leadership positions, including within the various HU schools, student government, cam- pus organizations, academic societies, and the student newspaper, the Hilltop. The Fall-Winter 2020 issue of the Kappa Alpha Psi Journal provided a brief overview of Xi Chapter's origin and Howard University's role with Founders Elder W. Diggs and Byron K. Armstrong and founding of Kappa Alpha Psi. These Centennial events further revealed an intriguing and exceptional history that Xi Chapter has established within the Fraternity and at Howard University. Below is additional informa- tion on the Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi. Province History Xi Chapter is the only single letter undergraduate chapter and the old- est chapter in the Eastern Province. In 1923, Xi Chapter was a member of Region 4 comprised of Epsilon, Lambda, Omicron, Baltimore (MD) Alumni, & Philadelphia (PA) Alumni Chapters. The following year, Region 4 was renamed as Region 1 and added Chi Chapter to the region. In 1926, the Fraternity reorganized and renamed Region 1 as the Eastern Province, where Xi has since remained a member. Un- known which district or region Xi was a member of between 1920 to 1923. National Panhellenic Council In January 1922, Xi led an effort to form an inter-fraternity council at HU. Lemuel Boulton, a Xi charter member, was this group's first chairman. The initial council had other Xi members, By Aaron S. Williams and Christopher M. Newsome
including charter initiates J. Wycliffe Keller, Julian J. Evans, and Joseph R. Moore; Herbert L. Dudley (Xi 1921), and Clifford L. Rucker (Xi 1921). The council participants were the president and members of the HU academic council and representatives from the other fraternities and sororities. The council's goal was to "engage the cooperative effort of secret organiza- tions and to foster a spirit of friendliness between them and the administration." In April 1922, the organizations met in Washington, DC, and agreed to form a permanent body contingent upon the ratification by their respective national bodies. However, the ratification of this body did not occur at this 1922 meet- ing. This initiative led to the establish- ment of the National Pan Hellenic Council in 1930. Grand Polemarch W. Ellis Stewart: Tour of Chapters In October 1923, the fourth Grand Polemarch W. Ellis Stewart embarked on a month-long tour of chapters. Grand Polemarch Stewart intended to meet the brothers and chapters that comprise the rapidly growing fraternity. He visited 17 chapters in 30 days, in- cluding a stop in Washington, DC, and a visit to Xi. Grand Polemarch Stewart commented on Xi Chapter: Here Xi Chapter has the best house of any Greek-letter organization con- nected with Howard. It is a model of cleanliness and good taste and is filled with an enthusiastic group of Kappa men. Brother C. C. Bruner (sp), Re- gional Director of the District, Brothers Thompson and Thompson, Polemarch and Keeper of Records respectively, of Xi Chapter, "Nick" Wright and "Bill" Brown and in fact the entire Chapter left nothing undone which could add to the pleasure of our visit with them. Sight-seeing trips, a football game, an "At Home" and theatre party made up our program of social events.
Here I was impressed with the earnest desire of Xi Chapter officers to go after quality, not quantity in the selection of their initiates. The history of Greek-letter organizations at Howard re- veals that this had not always been true. The desire for political control has led many fraternities far away from the true ideals of Greek letter fraternalism. I am hoping that the Inter-Fraternity Council can do something to correct conditions as they exist between organizations at this institution. The Scroller Club of Xi One chapter tradition that started in 1925 was the Scroller Cup, with some years the cup referred to as the Kappa Cup. For many years, the Scroller Club of Xi, with support from the HU Faculty Committee on Honors, presented the cup on Honors Day during the fall se- mester to the sophomore student, male or female, who achieved the highest grade point during their freshman year. In 1950, the Scroller Club of Xi established the Scroller SongFest. The Scroller Club annually would host an on-campus signing competition among
the NPHC fraternity and sorority clubs for prizes before standing-room-only crowds. Each club sang two selections of their favorite pledge club songs. Ac- cording to the November 11, 1950 issue of Hilltop newspaper, "the purpose of
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