Sad situation at Alabama Recruitment

[thetalady]

I am NOT casting shade on any of the sororities in this article. Just extremely sad at this situation at the University of Alabama.

Black Rushees Blocked During Recruitment

[Sen's Revenge]

And this is why "Membership Selection" needs to be demystified. This is abhorrent.

[thetalady]

A little more information:

The Final Barrier: 50 years later, segregation still exists

Sen, what do you mean that membership selection needs to be "demystified"? I am not certain what you are suggesting. If you mean that our membership selection activities be made public, then I very strongly disagree with you.

[Sen's Revenge]

Originally Posted by thetalady

A little more information:

The Final Barrier: 50 years later, segregation still exists

Sen, what do you mean that membership selection needs to be "demystified"? I am not certain what you are suggesting. If you mean that our membership selection activities be made public, then I very strongly disagree with you.

If your process allows alumnae to intercede, then yes, that needs to be public.

If your process allows racial discrimination, then yes, that needs to be public.

And so on.

[carnation]

I would say that if membership selection policies had to be made public for the NPC and NIC, the the same should be done with the NPHC. And it ain't gonna happen for any of them.

[Sen's Revenge]

Originally Posted by carnation

I would say that if membership selection policies had to be made public for the NPC and NIC, the the same should be done with the NPHC. And it ain't gonna happen for any of them.

NPHC policies are more public than you think. You just never had to think about them. Nice try though.

And it's not about who shares what - it's about your racist alumnae sistergreeks. Get them together rather than pick at what I say.

[carnation]

I'm not "trying" anything. And I don't know the alums in question or the black PNM but it sounds like we and the other groups missed out on a good member.

But...a lot of times, someone who wants to pledge an NPHC group will come here and start asking questions and people hush her up and tell her she's being grossly indiscreet. Some have expressed major frustration because they feel blocked out because they're not "in the know" from families or friends.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by thetalady

The Final Barrier: 50 years later, segregation still exists

"People are too scared of what the repercussions are of maybe taking a black girl,” Gotz said. “That’s stupid, but who’s going to be the one to make that jump? How much longer is it going to take till we have a black girl in a sorority? It’s been years, and it hasn’t happened.”

Am I to understand that there isn't even ONE black NPC member among all the chapters at Alabama?

[Football Fan]

Only one side of the story is being reported here. Who are these unidentified women who were interviewed?

Tri Delta has women of all races in their chapters.

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by Football Fan

Only one side of the story is being reported here. Who are these unidentified women who were interviewed?

Tri Delta has women of all races in their chapters.

We have ALL had members of many races in our chapters in the past and currently... just not at UA

[BlueCarnation]

Originally Posted by Football Fan

Only one side of the story is being reported here. Who are these unidentified women who were interviewed?

Tri Delta has women of all races in their chapters.

I think it's fair to say that all the sororities mentioned have women of all races in their chapters in general. I don't think anyone on here thinks there is an issue with the national organizations.

It took a lot of courage for these young women to speak out--if this did indeed happen. They probably would not have said anything if they knew their names would be revealed as they/their sororities could face serious repercussions, fair or unfair. There is no reason that they had to give their names. Sounds like the stories are consistent and there may be something to look into.

[GreenBookGirl]

Originally Posted by Football Fan

Only one side of the story is being reported here. Who are these unidentified women who were interviewed?

Tri Delta has women of all races in their chapters.

This story is not one-sided. At least some sororities had the opportunities to respond and instead of denying racism they gave generic, politician-like statements that mean nothing.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Football Fan

Only one side of the story is being reported here. Who are these unidentified women who were interviewed?

Tri Delta has women of all races in their chapters.

I know that you only speak of all things Tri Delta on this site, but all of the NPC sororities accept women of all races. But there is obviously a culture at Alabama which tends to cause the NPC chapters to turn women away based on the color of their skin.

Let's not pretend that any organization (NPC or otherwise) doesn't have at least one member who is racist.

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

If your process allows alumnae to intercede, then yes, that needs to be public.

If your process allows racial discrimination, then yes, that needs to be public.

And so on.

I would be VERY surprised if the official membership process of most (In the report in The Crimson this point was made) NPCs doesn't exclude alumnae involvement in the actual voting process (collecting ballots - good. Filling out a ballot - bad). Those who DO might wish to reconsider. Recs are when alumnae get their voice, as far as I am concerned. The members in the chapter are the ones who will live with this woman as a sister for the next few years - they are the only ones who should vote.

NONE of the NPCs allow racial discrimination in the official membership process. The problem is apparently some Bama chapters are NOT in line with NPC official national standards. I suspect it is rogue alumnae who have interfered and taken advantage of their position and the fact that collegians may be afraid to contradict them, or may not know that they are overstepping their positions. The brave sisters who are bringing this to light are, it is to be hoped, going to force HQs to step in and rectify the situation.

[DTD Alum]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Recs are when alumnae get their voice, as far as I am concerned.

OK, I admit I am lane swerving, but I am sort of with Sen in that I am more than ready for some transparency here. As a relatively recent alumnus, I have to say that sorority members, particularly right after they graduate, are far more open to talking about membership selection, operations, even rituals than GC'ers are. And most of the stuff is petty, but sometimes where there is smoke, there is fire, so I'll go ahead and say it.

I agree with your statement, but isn't this exactly where the problem is coming from?

I have been told by members of two different sororities (one who was rush chair and saw it happen, and one who actually used this following tactic) that for their orgs, all it took to get a girl automatically cut was for the chapter to receive a "no rec/do not pledge rec" from ANY alumna. And that the delivery of such a rec, which seemed to be worse than a "I do not recommend", was enough to get the PNM cut after Day 1 with absolutely no discussion allowed.

Neither GLO was mentioned in the Crimson White article, but both are present at Bama. Maybe these are the only two GLOs that do it, and maybe both collegians were confused when they told me and understood the procedure wrong (although I don't think a rush chair and somebody who used this tactic would get it wrong, but who knows). But given the statements Melanie Gotz and others made in the piece, this seems like a very likely avenue for an alumna who is concerned with keeping the chapter white, or rich, or whatever to efficiently blackball a rushee.

I know we don't talk about membership selection or whatever, and I can see many good uses for this tactic (in fact, the girl I know who did it had very specific information that was verified that the chapter didn't know of), but can we maybe just admit that whether the above example is true or not, that loopholes may just exist that alumnae are exploiting for their own discriminatory interests?

ETA: The discussion of this procedure happened at a brunch where a friend of mine mentioned she had done it for a girl we all knew who had done discriminatory things in the past that her collegiate chapter was unaware of, and another friend who had led her house in rush verified she saw the same thing happened in her own sorority. Just for clarity. One was at my school, the other was not. Friends were from high school.

Second ETA: This honestly also lines up very closely with what the collegians had to say in the piece, and even makes sense if the advisers were "sticking to procedure regarding recommendations" in terms of some of the adviser quotes.