Divine 9 Greek Organizations with Jamel Hodges

Jamel Hodges is the director of Institutional Culture and Belonging and advisor of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at USC Aiken. The NPHC Council is also known as Divine Nine (D9), which consists of historically Black Greek organizations.

There is a noticeable decline in the number of students joining Greek organizations. The reasons behind this are the high deposit amount, COVID-19 and the small number of Black students enrolled.

"If you are looking at D9 fraternities, for example... to have fraternities to have members, we have to have black men at the university. Research has shown a decline in Black male enrollment in institutions. When declining in enrollment ends up correlating to the decline in memberships."

When asked about the decline in membership for D9 sororities, Dr. Hodges explained:

"One of the things that has thwarted our membership on campus is COVID, and organizations have not bounced back from it...we've had success to bounce back from COVID. From a financial perspective, joining a sorority or fraternity is getting more expensive. One of the things that current members don't think about is a hazing allegation; typically, it comes with lawsuits…”

Another reason for high deposits is inflation. When Jamel joined Alpha Phi Alpha sixteen years ago, his deposit was $762. Now, the warranty is about $2,000, which covers application fees, regional fees, etc.

The general requirement to join D9 organizations is a 2.5 GPA requirement. AKA requires 2.50 cumulative and immediately proceeding with the current semester. Zeta Phi Beta and Delta Sigma Theta share a GPA requirement of 2.75 GPA. Included there are leadership and community service requirements.

"There is an unspoken rule that you must be involved; you must show and display your leadership experience."

The community service requirement is the same for all organizations. They want prospective members to exemplify not only academic success but also service to the community.

Being a part of a D9 organization comes with unlimited opportunities. As an Alpha Phi Alpha member, Jamel is a part of a brotherhood he can lean on for support.

"In the darkest times in our lives, you still will have those same people who are willing to lift you. No matter what is going on in your life, you will always have someone willing to listen to you and be a part of your life that way.”