Meet the New Members of Alpha Phi Alpha
“Meet the Neos” on whiteboard of the Jimenez Building. (Chelsea Collier/Black Explosion)
The Iota Zeta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. hosted an event the night of April 9 to give the University of Maryland community a chance to meet this semester’s three neophytes, known as neos, in Jimenez Hall.
Nathaniel Clinkscale, Brandon Quainoo and Dane Wallace make up this term’s line for the men in black and gold.
“All of them are really passionate and hard working. I also feel like all of them are genuine, all have their own personalities outside of being Alpha men,” said Malik Shuaib, a first generation fraternity member of Alpha Phi Alpha and president of this university’s National Pan-Hellenic Council. “I’ve seen them all grow throughout their process and become men that will uphold the standards of what it means to be a part of our fraternity.”
Alpha Phi Alpha alumni member talking to Dane Wallace and Brandon Quainoo. (Chelsea Collier/Black Explosion)
Nathaniel Clinkscale is a sophomore information science major and is the first father-son legacy in Iota Zeta chapter’s history. His father crossed in 1987. He grew up surrounded by other Alpha’s, including his grandfather, brother and uncles.
“They’ve been a big inspiration for me and just seeing the way that they carry themselves in today’s world as a Black male was very inspirational to me,” said Clinkscale.
He is most looking forward to networking and the social life that comes with being a member.
Quainoo is a freshman computer science major. During his time in high school he was the president of the Alpha Achievers, a program where the fraternity provides community service and promotes academic excellence.
Brandon Quainoo speaking to students who attended the event. (Chelsea Collier/Black Explosion)
The program introduced Brandon Quainoo to networking with members that would be valuable resources for him in the future. It is part of what inspired him to join this year.
“[What] I’m looking forward to the most is making an impact on campus,” said Quainoo. “There’s a small Black community at a PWI like University of Maryland so I feel like it’s very important for new coming students, such as myself and upperclassmen to be all connected in a certain way.”
He hopes to be able to create mentorship between the different classes of students at the university. At the moment, he senses a disconnect between students of color, especially Black underclassmen, in relation to resources and events that are currently available.
Dane Wallace is an economics major. He is also the director of programming for the Caribbean Student Association at this university. Wallace’s journey was a unique one because he transferred from Dickson College and became the roommate of Ian Penny, who was on the spring 2020 line.
“He showed me nothing but love and acceptance. He just allowed me to easily maneuver back into a bigger school’s life,” said Wallace. “Dickinson only had about 4,000 students compared to the 40,000 that are here at UMD so it was a big change for me”
Wallace is also looking forward to connecting the Black community through collaborative events with other cultural organizations on campus with the goal of bringing people together and providing a space to relieve stress that comes with being a student.
The connection of the Black community resonates with Wallace the most because of where he grew up: he didn’t see or work with many people who looked like him and he wants to change that.
“A lot of my early life I was with people who didn't look like me as much and some problems that I faced they weren’t also facing so I had to code switch a lot,” said Wallace. “I want to allow the community to be a comfortable environment to be themselves at all times and not have to worry about any sorts of discrimination.”