Omega Phi Psi is a fraternity that strives to achieve greatness, while altogether maintaining their proud, historical African American heritage.

From stepping to reciting hymns and poetry and openly embracing their love and pride for their African American culture, Omega Phi Psi is a fraternity on campus that conveys genuine fulfillment out of everything they do and represent.

“This fraternity does not define who you are, but helps you grow into the person you will be when you graduate,” said Omega Phi Psi member, Ashton Mackey.

Originally, the fraternity was founded in 1911 by just three members at Howard University in Washington D.C. Today, the three members at CSUSM find themselves starting at the bottom, as their predecessors did before them.

“It almost feels like we are reliving history. It took three young undergraduate students to establish this fraternity long ago, and we’re doing the same thing today in 2016,” said Mackey. “Our goal is to plant the seed of this fraternity here at CSUSM, in hopes that the legacy will continue to grow after we graduate.”

The motto that the Omega Phi Psi members live by is: “Friendship is essential to the soul.” There are also four cardinal principles that the brothers strive to honor: manhood, scholarship, perseverance and inspiration.

With being the first African American fraternity on campus, the members cannot help but feel great pride and honor to bring Omega Phi Psi to the CSUSM campus.

“The feeling is literally indescribable! Our hope is to inspire young men like ourselves to be proud of their culture,” Mackey said.

Omega Phi Psi was created through the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), also known as the Divine 9. The NPHC is a historically black panhellenic group comprised of African American fraternities and sororities.

Originally, African Americans were ostracized from the Greek system because of their skin color. This resulted into the birth of the Divine 9, which are five African American fraternities and four sororities now acknowledged within the Greek system.

Omega Phi Psi has been warmly welcomed by everyone affiliated with Greek life here on campus. They said they couldn’t be happier with the support and outreach they have received from everyone around them. We anticipate that this small frat will bloom into a large and prosperous organization.