What makes Greek life "hot" in the south?

[PhiGam]

He was probably referring to the hippie/ drug/ anti-war movement.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by PhiGam

He was probably referring to the hippie/ drug/ anti-war movement.

Like I said, those things don't necessarily mean that people weren't in fraternities.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Like I said, those things don't necessarily mean that people weren't in fraternities.

No argument -- the point was only as to why the comment "You call it a meltdown, we call it the civil rights movement" didn't fit. He wasn't talking about the Civil Rights movement.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

No argument -- the point was only as to why the comment "You call it a meltdown, we call it the civil rights movement" didn't fit. He wasn't talking about the Civil Rights movement.

well, I think that had something to do with it, when big chapters at big Northern private schools are turning in their charters over white clauses.

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by bejazd

Is it because colleges in the South (public and private) are willing to provide land for GLOs to build on? They obviously see that social orgs are a draw for students. I see a lot of articles out here about growing campuses that want to add Greek life because they know that it is a draw for some students, but I doubt we'll ever see another public campus in Calif providing land for building Greek housing. (The newest on campus Greek housing I know of is at UC Irvine. and that's unusual because most Greek housing in CA is privately owned. off campus.) The cost of the land is astronomical compared to the cost of building a house. So I don't know if we'll ever see any new Greek housing here, despite rising enrollments and growth in membership, esp at schools like CSULB, SDSU, UCSB etc.

While I agree the whole basis of this question/argument is flawed, I can see that the above may be a good point about housing for greeks in the north. There just isn't a lot of room for new building around a lot of the big schools up north, so building a "grand" new fraternity or sorority house just may not be possible space- (or zoning) wise. I remember at Penn State, where sororities are in the dorms, space was already so tight that when they brought new chapters on campus, they had to stick them up in East Halls. The FRESHMAN dorms -- agh!!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

well, I think that had something to do with it, when big chapters at big Northern private schools are turning in their charters over white clauses.

No one's arguing with the effects, pro or con, of the civil rights movement on Greek life. We're just saying that when oldu referred to "the meltdown of the late 1960s," we don't think he wasn't talking about the civil rights movement. Therefore, your statement "You call it a meltdown, we call it the civil rights movement" didn't really fit.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

No one's arguing with the effects, pro or con, of the civil rights movement on Greek life. We're just saying that when oldu referred to "the meltdown of the late 1960s," we don't think he wasn't talking about the civil rights movement. Therefore, your statement "You call it a meltdown, we call it the civil rights movement" didn't really fit.

oh, OK. I guess I'm a little slow today. either that, or a little snarky.

[Zillini]

I grew up in the Midwest, primarily Illinois and graduated from the UofI. I moved to Alabama 14 years ago. I've been amazed at the cultural differences in Greek life from the Midwest/Big 10 and the South/SEC. I've read through all the opinions here explaining why and have agreed with many. Love of tradition certainly plays a part of it, but it's more than that. Yet I can't find the words to fully explain it.

I remember a conversation I had with one of my brothers years ago. He's a Pike, also from the UofI and was living in Chicago at the time. I had just survived the exhausting weeks of Recruitment workshop and Formal Recruitment. I was physically and emotionally exhausted, which is the norm. He asked a reasonable question "What exactly do you do there? Why is it so hard? You're just an advisor. It's just Rush. It's just a sorority." There is no easy way to explain it. Even when I explained what all I did, he still didn't get it. Years have passed since then and I still can't explain it. I've come to realize until/unless you experience it firsthand, it's nearly impossible to comprehend.

[LegallyBrunette]

Originally Posted by PhiGam

I said nothing of ambition and I have no idea what Theta Phi Alpha is.

Hi.

Theta Phi Alpha is one of the 26 NPC sororities. I know we may not be as well represented in Florida as in some other areas, but we do have a few chapters down that way and there are several of us who post on GC regularly. Normally, I'd launch into everything it's done for me, but I suspect it would be falling on deaf ears since I don't have any personal anecdotes of cutting based on looks or a misguided conception of "class" to share with FRATTY.

Anyway, sorry to re-start the hijack. Back on topic....

ETA: Despite my Yankee upbringing and a fairly strong hunch I wouldn't have survived an SEC rush, I find the differences very interesting and as some other poster indicated, I think it's nice that Greek life can operate in different ways for different people.

[SWTXBelle]

It's one thing not to know - it's another to post your ignorance in public without going to the trouble of, oh, I don't know, using the internet to check it out.

[LegallyBrunette]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

It's one thing not to know - it's another to post your ignorance in public without going to the trouble of, oh, I don't know, using the internet to check it out.

Yes. That's what I was getting at too. You just expressed it much better than I did

[ThetaDancer]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

It's one thing not to know - it's another to post your ignorance in public without going to the trouble of, oh, I don't know, using the internet to check it out.

Thank you! That deserves to be repeated.

[SECdomination]

I don't think he was attacking Theta Phi Alpha- VandalSquirrel just gave a response that made her seem all victimized or something.

[LegallyBrunette]

Originally Posted by SECdomination

I don't think he was attacking Theta Phi Alpha- VandalSquirrel just gave a response that made her seem all victimized or something.

I don't think he neccessarily was "attacking" either. But, based on his history of dismissing groups that aren't sufficiently fratty or lacking his perception of "class," I decided I'd err on the side of speaking up for my GLO.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

True, but given his other posts, I assume he was talking about the Vietnam War and the accompanying Question Authority/Down With Tradition/Never Trust Anyone Over 30 sentiments that caused a significant decline in Greekdom in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Interesting, because it was the late 60s early 70s during which BGLOs grew in leaps and bounds. New chapters we being chartered all over the place.

This whole thread is interesting to me and very informative. I will say that BGLOs are "hot" everywhere. Granted there are more chapters of orgs in the South, but that is due to the number of HBCUs located there.

BGLOs have always played a vital part in the Black community so knowledge and interest is not geographically skewed. Many of our leaders during the civil rights movement were member of BGLOs (which could partly explain the surge during that time.) I also think that our alumni(ae) structure plays a big part in the universal appeal, because we have never been thought of as just a collegiate activity. And did our Founders did not intend for that to be the case.