Andrew Cheeseboro hopes Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity can help remedy the problem of internalized oppression that faces black men and women.

Cheeseboro, a Penn State alumnus and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, spoke Saturday during the Gamma Nu chapter's 55th Anniversary Black and Gold Ball.

"Our reality is that there are too many African-American men and women with too low self-esteem and self-worth," Cheeseboro said.

There has been a decrease in black male college attendance within the last 20 years, and many black students are removing themselves from college, he said.

Sixteen men founded the Gamma Nu chapter in 1947, a time when few primarily black organizations existed at Penn State. A member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the fraternity has two undergraduate members.

The chapter contributes to the Penn State and State College communities in several ways, said Chris Thomas, fraternity president.

Thomas said the most notable of the fraternity's contributions comes through the Thurgood Marshall Speech Contest, which awards its winner a $500 scholarship.

The chapter also holds a program to encourage black youths to attend high school and college, as well as a program designed to educate young men about AIDS.

"In this society we need to work together, and if we don't, essential services won't get done," he said.

Cheeseboro emphasized the black community's importance in remedying the issues of poverty, weak race relations and academic underachievement.

"Some of us have become successful, self-centered and flamboyant and have turned their backs on the struggle," he said.

Such qualities do not exemplify Alpha Phi Alpha's ideal of leadership, he added.

Darrick Johnson, a 1991 graduate, said his membership in the fraternity instilled him with many qualities, although the friendships he gained were the greatest benefit. Alpha Phi Alpha also introduced Johnson to the qualities of leadership and success.

"It helped create a drive in my mind to be successful," he said.

Cheeseboro reminded those present to continue succeeding in life.

"What you spend time building, others may destroy overnight. Build anyway," Cheeseboro said. "Penn State and the world will be a better place if we are judged by our deeds and not our color."