Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

BE OUT QUE’S

CHI LAMBDA CHAPTER – 5TH DISTRICT – TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY HISTORY

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity received its charter on May 10, 1978, becoming an approved National Fraternity on campus of Tennessee Technological University. This was the second only Black Organization on campus. The first was the Black Student Organization (BSO). Omega Psi Phi Fraternity was the First Black fraternity on campus. The Charter Line consisted of the following members: Ken Cooke (Basilus), Edwin P. Osborne (Vice-Basilus), Joe Faulkerson (Keeper of Records and Seal) Henry “Hank” Shaw (Keeper of Finance), William Jones Jr. “JJ” and Phillip Singyane. Doctor Leon McGee was the first Omega Psi Phi advisor. Doctor McGee pledged at Ohio State University. The Charter line had to go to Tennessee State (Rho Psi Chapter) to pledge on the weekends. In March of “78” there were additional members initiated in the Fraternity. They were Vhondy Strickland and Anthony McCants. In the Fall of “78” the membership was a total of eight men.

In the Fall Quarter of “78”, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity had another line of fourteen men. Of these fourteen men only eight Cross the Burning Sands of Omega. These eight brave men were: Gerald Ross (1), Jeff Ryan (2), Rickey C. Moore (3), Anthony Chatman (4), Stanley Johnson (5), Christopher Randolph (6), Roddna Rockymoore (7), and Warren Osborne (8). The membership of Omega grew rapidly as members became more and more active in such service projects as Door-to-Door collecting for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the Rock-a-thon, and Dance-a-thon. The Fall of “79” the brothers held a Slave sale on Johnson Hall Auditorium to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy.

The Brothers are active in intramural sports, finishing second in the Fraternity Basketball League and first place in the All-Campus Basketball Tournament. Also, brothers participated in Football, Track, Boxing, and Wrestling intramurals. Brothers were members and also held office in several of the student organizations like the Black Student Organization (BSO), InterFraternity Council (IFC), and Professional Fraternity Association (PFA). The brothers won the Fifth District Chapter of the year twice and the National Chapter of the Year in 1981. The Pearls of Omega Psi Phi help the brothers with various activities. These include Bake sales, helping with the ball game concessions, modeling in the brother‘s Fashion show held in the Fall Quarter, and cheering them on during intramural games.

Members after 1979

In the year of 1981, there were two more members of the great Chi Lambda chapter initiated. These members were Donald Jamison (1), and Gary Hawkins “Hawk” (2). In 1982, there was only one member initiated. The young man pledged alone. His name was Rickey Allen “Big Rick”. In 1984, there was Michael Cunningham “Smiling Dog” (1) and Benjamin McKinley “Cobra” (2).

Rebirth of Chi Lambda Chapter in 1986

In the Fall of 1986, brother Rickey Moore came back to Tennessee Tech University on a Fellowship Program for Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program. During his studies, he met with two young men eager to be Omega men. There names were Gerald Dossett and Brian Wyatt. After several road blocks from the university and the 5th District of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Rickey Moore had approval to pledge these two young men at the university to start the long road of rebuilding the chapter of Chi Lambda. In the Spring of 1987, the two young men Brian Wyatt (1), and Gerald Dossett (2) Cross the Burning Sands of Omega. The following year of 1988, there were two members of Chi Lambda, Maloney Placide “Hawk” (1), and Carlos James “Animal” (2). The following year of 1989, there were two more that joined the ranges of the Mighty Omega. These two were Fred Lowery (1) and Lance Brown (2).