Should more "mostly white sororities and fraternities" be integrated?

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by AUDeltaGam
but to be honest, I don't remember seeing a single african american coming through recruitment.

But do you think that there's a reason for that?


Like Kath said, there are many people of color out there that don't even realize that our organizations aren't "whites only" anymore. And many of those who do know that they aren't are hesitant because they hear stories like the Melody Twilley one. Still others just don't think they would feel comfortable in an atmosphere where they are the ONLY non-white face.

I can't speak for the NIC but I have yet to see the NPC make any strong push to reverse the stereotypes regarding race. There have been major pushes towards the negative stereotypes of drinking and hazing but not so much towards our less-than-great background in regards to race. Sure, many GLOs say, "Hey, we have non-white members" but that just leads to some of our minority members feeling tokenized.


I think it's interesting that everytime we discuss this subject, people jump to say, "Oh but we ARE diverse and we LOVE minorities, it's just that the minorities don't come out to rush" (which is certainly true on many campuses including mine) without thinking about the deeper underlying reasons of why that might be.

[starang21]

i think it's funny that a lot of these organizations want to show off how diverse they are by bringing back up the one or two guys who are from different countries or some mess like that.

"we had brothers from pakistan, from japan, and from micronesia....all within the past 10 years. see, we're all about diversity"

[AUDeltaGam]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
But do you think that there's a reason for that?


Like Kath said, there are many people of color out there that don't even realize that our organizations aren't "whites only" anymore. And many of those who do know that they aren't are hesitant because they hear stories like the Melody Twilley one. Still others just don't think they would feel comfortable in an atmosphere where they are the ONLY non-white face.

Oh, I think you are completely right about that. In the south, and especially in the "Deep South", some still have the mentality that there are "white" sororities and there are "black" sororities. And people are hesitant to break away from that mindset.

[decadence]

starang21, I would agree with a sentiment that "diversity" is almost a buzzword to throw around sometimes.

...I think the suggestion that non-white members of non historically black GLOs are there because they are black/Asian etc or just there for 'tokenism' is at best a sweeping flawed generalisation and at worst pretty offensive.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by starang21
i think it's funny that a lot of these organizations want to show off how diverse they are by bringing back up the one or two guys who are from different countries or some mess like that.

"we had brothers from pakistan, from japan, and from micronesia....all within the past 10 years. see, we're all about diversity"

How many white brothers have you had? I'd like to know, because your organization certainly seems less diverse than my own.

[starang21]

Originally posted by decadence
starang21, I would agree with a sentiment that "diversity" is almost a buzzword to throw around sometimes.

...I think the suggestion that non-white members of non historically black GLOs are there because they are black/Asian etc or just there for 'tokenism' is at best a sweeping flawed generalisation and at worst pretty offensive.

i'm not sure if they're token's or not. but it is funny that an organizations claim to diversity fame is on how many non-white members they have. it's like people think that because they have one minority, he's the posterchild for openmindedness. and WE ALL KNOW that that is not the case.

[starang21]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
How many white brothers have you had? I'd like to know, because your organization certainly seems less diverse than my own.

i've met a white bruh here and there, but my orgnization isn't on the spotlight. we're a historically black fraternity, geared torwards service to and for the black community. i'm filipino, but none of my prophytes or my neos are going to spout rhetoric about how diverse we are.

[decadence]

<edited/snipped>
I need to go and do my essays.

[lyrica9]

alright, not the entire SOUTH is like that. I go to school in the dallas area, which is the buckle of the bible belt, lots of down home attitudes.

BUT i think all the GLOs here are pretty diverse. we're having rehearsals and such for greek week, and all of the chapter presidents stood up and introduced their chapters, and I noticed that one of the NPHC chapter presidents was a white guy.
i think i've only seen one, maybe two chapters in any council here that have just white/black/hispanic members, but i think the general rule is that if you like them, they like you, you're given a bid.

so, not all of the south is drenched in strict tradition.
(i'm tired of reading, "that's just how it is in the south", so sorry for the mini-rant)

[LatinaAlumna]

Personally, I can say that one of the reasons I chose not to join a NPC sorority is how some of the members approached me. I met some women on campus who were in various NPC organizations, and each one of them kept telling me that I should rush because they were looking to increase the diversity in their chapters. They didn't say it was because they thought I would be a good leader or sister. They point blank told me it was because they were seeking to increase diversity and that they knew I could afford the fees. This was a turn-off. I'm certain that this is not how most NPC members act, but at the same time, that was the tone I was getting on my particular campus from members of various sororities.

When considering what I wanted, I knew that NPC has a lot to offer, including worldwide members and a long history. My decision, however, was not one in which I was chosing "not to join" the NPC, but rather, a decision "to join" my particular sorority. The sorority I joined was in my heart, and its committment to service was a major draw for me. The NPC sororities were social organizations, and I wanted to be in something that was service-oriented.

[Kevin]

Originally posted by starang21
i'm not sure if they're token's or not. but it is funny that an organizations claim to diversity fame is on how many non-white members they have. it's like people think that because they have one minority, he's the posterchild for openmindedness. and WE ALL KNOW that that is not the case.

Does it offend you that the majority of these organizations are Caucasian? Why did you yourself not join a predominantly Caucasian GLO?

Answer that question honestly, and I think you'll have your answer as to why most historically white GLO's have many chapters that don't have a single minority member.

I don't doubt that there are some cases of blatant racial discrimination. In many and probably most cases, however, it's just the case that for one reason or another minorities don't go through recruitment or are afraid of being alienated from their peers if they rushed.

In college, I had a friend who I thought was a great fit to our house. He happened to be black. I asked him if he would be interested in rushing and he politely declined. His roomie was an Alpha Phi Alpha and he was afraid that his friends in BGLO's would not talk to him anymore if he rushed somewhere other than Alpha Phi Alpha. The conversation at this point is pretty hazy, but I think that him being ostracized for rushing an IFC fraternity had been discussed and confirmed with his friends.

It was actually pretty disenheartening to me to hear that. One of our chapter's founding fathers was a Japanese student (lives in Tokyo now). That dude added sooo much to our chapter. He was big on the international student senate and had this great thing with quoting Confucious in meetings to add his two-cents.

Diversity can be cool. But as far as doing it just to be able to claim you have 'diversity', I'd have to say that would go against what our organizations are about. Either you are a good fit, or you're not. In my opinion, race, sexual orientation, nationality, etc. shouldn't enter into it at all, just character, values and dedication.

Consider the fact that on my alma mater's campus, there are probably only around 100 guys that go through rush in a semester. Out of the 100, about 95% are white. Out of those 100, we probably only sign around 10-15.

Yeah, it's pretty sad that on my alma mater's campus, where we have a pretty large minority population, so few minorities choose to go through recruitment. You shouldn't call out the IFC/PHC organizations for this though. At worst/best (depending on your POV), they can shoulder no more/less than 50% of the blame for this situation.

[WhirlwindTNX]

Originally posted by starang21
i think it's funny that a lot of these organizations want to show off how diverse they are by bringing back up the one or two guys who are from different countries or some mess like that.

"we had brothers from pakistan, from japan, and from micronesia....all within the past 10 years. see, we're all about diversity"

Oh so true. BUT, here at PITT everyone does it, maybe except us. We know we're diverse, we can tell you why we're diverse, and it's not because I've got a White, Puerto Rican, Indian, Multi-racial, etc. sister.

So sometimes, we get all the questions: What makes your organization so diverse? We have a black brother, white brother, sister, blah blah blah..... It's as if people are sometimes threatened by people saying there isn't enough diversity (city wide, not just the Greek orgs). It makes them think about it, and I've seen people get mad defensive because they realize you may be right....Just something I've noticed at my school.

[starang21]

Originally posted by ktsnake
Does it offend you that the majority of these organizations are Caucasian? Why did you yourself not join a predominantly Caucasian GLO?

Answer that question honestly, and I think you'll have your answer as to why most historically white GLO's have many chapters that don't have a single minority member.

I don't doubt that there are some cases of blatant racial discrimination. In many and probably most cases, however, it's just the case that for one reason or another minorities don't go through recruitment or are afraid of being alienated from their peers if they rushed.

In college, I had a friend who I thought was a great fit to our house. He happened to be black. I asked him if he would be interested in rushing and he politely declined. His roomie was an Alpha Phi Alpha and he was afraid that his friends in BGLO's would not talk to him anymore if he rushed somewhere other than Alpha Phi Alpha. The conversation at this point is pretty hazy, but I think that him being ostracized for rushing an IFC fraternity had been discussed and confirmed with his friends.

It was actually pretty disenheartening to me to hear that. One of our chapter's founding fathers was a Japanese student (lives in Tokyo now). That dude added sooo much to our chapter. He was big on the international student senate and had this great thing with quoting Confucious in meetings to add his two-cents.

Diversity can be cool. But as far as doing it just to be able to claim you have 'diversity', I'd have to say that would go against what our organizations are about. Either you are a good fit, or you're not. In my opinion, race, sexual orientation, nationality, etc. shouldn't enter into it at all, just character, values and dedication.

Consider the fact that on my alma mater's campus, there are probably only around 100 guys that go through rush in a semester. Out of the 100, about 95% are white. Out of those 100, we probably only sign around 10-15.

Yeah, it's pretty sad that on my alma mater's campus, where we have a pretty large minority population, so few minorities choose to go through recruitment. You shouldn't call out the IFC/PHC organizations for this though. At worst/best (depending on your POV), they can shoulder no more/less than 50% of the blame for this situation.

because i didn't want to join one. ifc frats came calling and i actually did go to a few rush functions and it wasn't something i as interested in. even got bids, but i didn't like it. and yes, that is an answer to why there aren't minorities in white GLO's. i'm not the one who thinks that y'all should go out and specifically look for non-white members. if they want it, hey....more power to them. i'm not calling anyone out, my point is that a lot of y'all use the only minority in your chapter as the posterboy for diversity. in some cases, it is blatant racial discrimination...other times, folks just don't want it.

[Megerts]

How is okay for a "historically african-american" sorority not to initiate a white member but it's not okay for "traditionally white" sorority? It goes both ways, but that doesn't make it any more right! You should join an organization because you feel comfortable with those people, not because you share the same skin tone/culture.

Funny y'all should talk about it, our paper is doing a big story on race relations this week... I'm going to attach the link to the story about going greek in the south.y'all should read it, it's really interesting...

heres the link : going greek in the south -- LSU Reveille


And by the way! Since everyone is trash talking the south I would just like to say racisim isn't ONLY in the south. The communities in the north are segregated as well! It might not be a white/black thing there, but it's between other different ethnic groups such as hispanics(latinos-- depending on your part of the country), italians, etc... So instead of blaming the problems on the south, we should take a look at ourselves and see what we can do in our communities to make it just that...A COMMUNITY! It only functions if everyone does their part....

I'll get off the soap box now!

Read the article!

[sigtau305]

Originally posted by Rollergirl2001
I agree with you. I think that it will take sheer guts for an AA to be in an "all white" sorority or fraternity.

It takes a person, regardless of their color, to be able to fit in a Greek Organization or that for matter, any organization whom He/She feels comfortable in. Everyone has the right to chose whatever he/she want to do.