Creating a rule, banning or discouraging the use of J5 seems punitive. Additionally, we should, as a fraternity, encourage the affirmative.

With that said, I think all formal communication from chapters, provinces and our national governance structure should use FOUNDER'S DAY not J5. We need to reconnect the 80% of our membership who decided (both undergraduate and alumni) to remain inactive (not financial, sustaining or affiliated with a chapter) after only 2-3 years in the bond. Let's focus Founder's Day on our foundation of brotherhood and continue to try to bring our fraternity together nationally. Remember, our fraternity was foundered on the basis of brotherhood - not community service, not joint organizations and not politics but BROTHERHOOD. To ban a phrase is petty! Let's focus on the big picture: getting brothers to attend the national Founder's Day not having chapters host conflicting events during this time and having the events focus on brotherhood. Founder's Day should be a time of reclamation, rededication and fraternal rejuvenation. I think the protocol around Founder's Day being for Brothers to recommit to the founding of the fraternity and to focus on our revered founders is much more important than the 'J5' tag line. Let us not forget the hard work and sacrifice by them to create what we have today. The Founders have at the very least earned the respect from us that we will do right by them at every turn.

There should be some pride and respect in honoring this century-old organization. Whether typing a Founders Day salutation or speaking it being lazy obviously is not the way to go. If it is something that has to be explained, then we are already missing the mark. Simply put if we are going to use something as a marketing tool, we need to make it relative to the audience for which we are trying to attract. What put it into perspective for me was as I observed someone pick up a flyer not too long ago, they commented by asking, what's J5? Followed by the other asking what does Kappa Alpha Psi has to do with the Jackson Five? I did not like the use of it six years ago and am not a fan of it today. Personally, I hate the use of the moniker and would prefer that it be banned altogether.

Kappa alpha psi founders day 2017 logos