Omega Psi Phi fraternity celebrates 75th anniversary

The atmosphere resembled that of Christmas morning. Barely able to contain themselves, the… The atmosphere resembled that of Christmas morning. Barely able to contain themselves, the brothers of the University of Pittsburgh’s Omega Psi Phi fraternity sported ear-to-ear grins as they convened; some of the brothers had not seen each other in years.

They laughed, joked and reminisced about days past. They left their wives and children at home, but brought scrapbooks and photo albums full of faded, wrinkled photographs to show each other where their lives had taken them since their college days.

The brothers were celebrating the black fraternity’s 75th anniversary Friday night in the Forbes Ballroom of the Wyndham Garden Hotel on Forbes Avenue in Oakland.

With each opening of the ballroom door, blaring hip-hop music wafted into the Wyndham’s crowded lobby full of Omega Psi Phi brothers dressed in something a little better than their Sunday best.

“This is a great reunion for us,” Donovan Young, a 1986 Pitt graduate said. “Some of us haven’t seen each other in 20 years.”

Young, a 1991 graduate of Temple Dental School and Dental Director of Henry Austin Health Center in Trenton, N.J., said he and other brothers spent the last year and a half planning for the reunion. He said he made countless phone calls and e-mails to find brothers.

“We did research, and lots of it,” Young said. “But tonight is the culmination of the planning stage.”

Brothers came from all across America to reunite for the weekend.

Lydell Clark, a 1985 Pitt graduate, traveled from Atlanta for the reunion.

“I’m happy to be here,” Clark, a sales representative for State Farm Insurance, said. “I’ve seen some of the brothers that pledged me.”

Clark recalls how he was very proud to become a member of the fraternity. He said when he was pledging, he and his fellow pledges had to wear a special uniform.

“People saw our uniforms and understood we were undergoing a very difficult process,” Clark said.

The fraternity, which prides itself on being a service fraternity, has four cardinal virtues that brothers are required to follow: manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift.

Senior Joel Edwards, the current president of Omega Psi Phi, said brotherhood in the fraternity lasts a lifetime.

“Tonight shows that being in a fraternity extends the four years of college,” Edwards said.

Edwards, a computer science major, mentioned how the fraternity is based on public service, not partying. He said the brothers tutor children from kindergarten through fifth grade, run fund-raising projects and participate in walk-a-thons.

Edwards noted that despite countless hours of community service, the brothers like to relax and have a good time.

“Monday through Friday, we’re Omega men,” Edwards said. “But we party with the best of them.”

The Omicron Psi chapter of Omega Psi Phi, one of Pitt’s oldest black student groups, was founded on Pitt’s campus March 10, 1927, and received its charter exactly one year later. Since then, the chapter has initiated 150 brothers.

Over the years, the fraternity has seen its brothers enter many different career fields. At this particular reunion, doctors, lawyers and teachers were some of those who mingled and recounted favorite memories.

At the door to the reunion, brothers were able to pick up a paper highlighting the fraternity’s history. The last paragraph of the paper seemed to sum up the evening’s atmosphere. It read: “Though our members are not many, our value is not in numbers, but in men, real men thoroughly immersed in the true Omega Spirit.”