Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brother wants UT to be family affair
Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:00:00 -0400

On Friday morning, Gene Cross was riding down the turnpike heading east to Toledo and practicing his introductory speech over the phone to longtime friend Cliff Warren, the men's basketball coach at Jacksonville University.

Warren heard the voice of Cross' mother, Haroleon Cross, in the background in the car and gave Gene advice he would later eschew: Don't look at your mother during your speech or you'll get emotional.

Gene told him, "I'm getting emotional now."

The new University of Toledo men's basketball coach calls himself "the biggest mama's boy there is," but that wasn't the sole reason for the feelings on the drive over from South Bend and during his speech. It was the thought that kept crossing his mind: "This is the job I was supposed to get."

"He and I talked all the time about what it's going to take to get a job," Warren said. "He's thankful and honored and I think he's going to cherish it for a very long time."

Cross is a guy who puts his team's grade point average on his resume. He's a crazy yet efficient driver in his hometown city of Chicago. He's a Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brother. He's Haroleon's only child.

Kappas gather for practice
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:00:00 -0500

If you haven't seen a Greek step show like the one featured in the 2006 movie "Stomp the Yard" you might want to get to a St. Petersburg greek show early to get the best seat. That's because people will tell you the rhythmic moves are breathtaking and if you blink you might miss the action.

No one knows that better than the producer of the flick Will Packer Jr. He's from South St. Pete. He graduated from Florida A & M in Tallahassee in electrical engineering and says he stumbled into film making because he wanted to be an entrepreneur.

He and his best friend Rob Hardy, have accomplished that goal together by

Kappas stand strong on campus despite one member left
Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:48:01 -0500

On UD’s campus, the word “nupe” might not generate many pictures in a person’s head.

There aren’t many of them left, but nupes, members of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., are trying their best to revive a brotherhood they hold dear.

Kappa President Stacey Harris is the only active member left on campus and represents the fraternity alone in the Kappa house, 206 Lawnview Ave. He is surrounded by colorful 5-foot pledge class paddles in every room, with names of brothers he never knew. He is also often surrounded by invested alumni, a reminder of the family he will always have.

From 2000 to 2006 Kappa was the largest black fraternity on campus. UD recognized it as an official organization in 1978; it was founded at Indiana University in 1911. Its birth state was the same as the Ku Klux Klan’s during a time there weren’t many black college students, according to chapter adviser Charles Kellom.

The adversity Kappas have faced throughout the years gives them a reason to join together. Kellom, ’05, said the fraternity is “a tradition of lifetime commitment . . . because we’re always helping brothers succeed.”

Kappa honored at 29th Annual Black Achievers Award Celebration
Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:00:00 -0500

Like most dedicated achievers, Richard Watkins and Yunina Barbour-Payne are more concerned about the work they do than any accolades they might receive as a result.

But last night, they were celebrated as two of the local African-American community's best and brightest stars at the Chestnut Street Family YMCA's 29th Annual Black Achievers Awards Celebration.

The event, held at the Kentucky International Convention Center, celebrates academic and volunteer achievements of African Americans from

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