By Tinea Payne | Chief Copy Editor
Twelve men were inducted into the provisional chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order, Thursday, Feb. 25.
Jesse Lyons, KA director of chapter development, said the chapter is the first ever initiated at APSU.
He described the fraternal order as one that strives to be “the gentleman of the fraternal world” and that its major focus is on “aiming for excellence, not just saying it.”
“It’s not saying ‘we are the best,’ but that ‘we try to be the best,’” Lyons said.
Rylan Kean, senior organizational communication and leadership major, who was inducted into KA, said he was excited about the induction and that the organization will strive to be the “gentlemen” among other fraternities. “We can do nothing but add to what’s already here,” Rylan said.
He is a family legacy, as his father, Andy Kean, director of university facilities, is also a member of KA.
Rylan said what attracted him to the fraternal order was “the whole idea of chivalry and being a gentleman…I consider those [things] highly important.”
He was among nine inductees appointed as chapter officers.
Last year, the fraternal order petitioned the university to start the new chapter and the university agreed, according to Lyons. He said the fraternal order would charter after completing a year of requirements and that it would take 30 members to officially charter.
Inductees of the provisional chapter include: Corey Baggett, Jerry Cherry, Sean Collette, Justen Grubb, Bradley Jackson, Rylan Kean, Ryan Lee, Christian Pardue, Kevin Rutledge, Eric Sneed and Chris Stewart.
Among the guests attending the ceremony were: Aaron Hunt, commander William E. Forester province; Andy Kean, chairman of the Alumni Advisory Committee, Chris Woods, associate director; Greg Singleton, dean of students and KA national scholarship officer and Tristian Denley, provost.
About KA:
Robert E. Lee founded KA at Washington College in 1865. Today, the fraternal order has expanded to 131 chapters and 145,000 initiated members, according to the national Web site.
For more information, visit the national Web site at www.kappaalphaorder.org.
CORRECTION (Friday, Feb. 26): Robert E. Lee was the “spiritual” founder and president of the college when KA was founded. The members looked up to him as a gentleman but he had nothing to do with KA.
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February 26th, 2010 on 6:19 AM
Well that’s nice. I asked them to send me info but I still haven’t gotten anything. I’m pretty sure that I qualify to join this group considering that I am a Veteran and a student at this school. I didn’t even know this was going on. I think that’s pretty funny. They must be every selective who they want in their group. O’well thanks for all the great literature. I will put it to good use.