The graduation caps have been tossed, the lockers have been cleaned out for the final time, and the summer leading into adulthood has been reaped for all it is worth.

Now, teens bound for college have a whole new set of thoughts swirling through their noggins.

How much harder will college classes be? Will I get homesick? What if I don't get along with my roommate?

 And eventually, many will meet this consideration: Should I join a fraternity or sorority?   more »

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the nation’s first and largest predominately black Greek-letter fraternity, has partnered with the March of Dimes to create Project Alpha. The national initiative is an extension of the work the fraternity does with Big Brothers and the Boy Scouts of America and seeks to teach young men to make better choices about their sexual behavior.

While in Orlando, Florida celebrating the fraternity's 101st anniversary, I participated in a Project Alpha workshop with some local boys at one of the YMCAs.  Of the 10 boys that participated, only two lived with their fathers, and only one other knew or had an even casual relationship with his father. What is more, a number of my fraternity brothers confessed that they too grew up without fathers. The 70 percent illegitimacy rate is real and has very real consequences. And the men of Alpha are working to end the cycle of fatherless children.

I was blessed with three beautiful sons. I watch them from across the room as they wrestle or sit quietly reading, and I am in awe of God’s handiwork. The miracle of their lives takes my breath away. I listened to their heart beats when they were no bigger than goldfish swimming in their mother’s womb. I held them when they were helpless, fed them and cleaned them, and every day, they grow a little bit further into themselves and away from me and their mother. I cannot imagine being more in love with another human being. There is nothing I would not do for them, nothing I would not give.   more »