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Diversity
I'm definitely glad to say at my university, discrimination isn't really a factor at all. Throughout the entire greek system at Western there are ppl of all different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities and of different proportions. There aren't any black GLOs in Canada (that I'm aware of) but I'm definitely to proud to be a black sister of AOII!
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The thing that gets me through threads like this is to remember the following:
There is a world of difference between discrimination and bigotry. |
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But *sigh* I'm going to say this and put on my asbestos suit. It has to be said. The NPC is NOT the only thing that needs to change in this scenario. What also needs to change is the mindset of young black women. Young black women need to understand that in this day and age that no LEGALLY mandated system of segregation exists. This is 2003, not 1953. Young black women need to understand that they can find a place for themselves within the legacies of Alpha Phi, AOII, Chi Omega and the rest of the NPC, every bit as much as they can among Zeta Phi Beta, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, or Alpha Kappa Alpha. They need to see that there are some of us who have found places for ourselves here, and are thriving within this conference. It's not about being "black" enough. It's not about being "white" enough. It's about being YOU enough, and secure in YOURSELF, your IDENTITY, and your integrity. It's about realizing that as a person who grew up in (North) America, you have more in common with those who look different than you than surface realities might lead you to believe. People keep saying that the NPC needs to reach out more. And you know - we do. But at some point, that "reaching out" starts to sound like "pander to" or "bend over backwards and make them feel special" - and that makes me uncomfortable. I don't need to have Alpha Phi donate a check to the United Negro College Fund to make me feel more welcome. I don't want my sisters to feel like they have to be on eggshells whenever I'm around just because "I'm different". I've felt like a token more than once or twice in my life, and let me tell you - it's a sh*tty way to feel. Any forced attempts at integration will backfire - because the non-black members of that chapter will come to resent the black member, and the black member will come to resent her sisters for keeping her outside of and apart from the rest of the chapter. This kind of bonding has to happen organically. And that starts when some "sister" at some university decides to sign up for NPC recruitment. Shake the haters and the detractors -- on both sides. Eff all those people who tell you that you're "selling out" by signing up. Even if at some point you decide that the NPC isn't for you - GO THROUGH IT ANYWAY. Don't stand on the outside, rolling your eyes and saying "they don't want me" - give them the chance to want you. And if the b*tches in that particular chapter decide to act a fool, then don't let that one incident of discrimination define the rest of your life. You are more than that - you are worth more than that - and trust - you will rise above it. Okay, I'm tired now. |
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http://www.spacespider.net/emo/signs_word.gif As always, Sistermadly, very eloquent and a lot of food for thought! http://superbabies.homestead.com/files/bow.gif |
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I would like to set this straight... The biracial girl you are referring to is Christina Houston and she was one of the sisters in the chapter I advise at the University of Alabama. It was fully known by everyone in the chapter and, I am certain, everyone in every NPC chapter at UA before Christina even set foot inside her first house during Ice Water Teas, that she was biracial. We didn't think it was such a big deal that we would need to run to the press and say "WE PLEDGED A BIRACIAL WOMAN." Also, we were NOT the first sorority on the UA campus to have a biracial member. This publicity for Christina came about AFTER the Melody Twilley scandal. Someone at the University newspaper pressured Christina to do an interview in response to Melody's insistance that she was dropped from the NPC sororities because of the color of her skin. (I can also assure you that THAT is not true, but that's another story entirely.) In that student-written newspaper article, Christina was misquoted as saying that the "n-word flew like bullets" and it sounded like she meant this happened in the sorority house or among her sisters. She was VERY upset about this after the article was printed, because she was NOT talking about the sorority, but some boys at a party she attended. This would NEVER have occurred in the sorority...the idea of that is absolutely ridiculous. Christina later resigned from the sorority due to financial problems. I feel that the publicity that surrounded her membership may have been another reason that she felt it necessary to resign. The sisters tried everything they could to keep her as a member and were very disappointed with her resignation. Please do not accept these rumors as fact. |
Thanks for setting the story straight. :)
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Not sure...
I'm not sure if this has been posted before but from personal experience, its not always the sororities fault. I know on my campus that if you are Afro-American and you rush a PHC sorority, the majority of Afro-Americans on campus will not talk to you. Many think that since there are the 4 NPHC sororities and one Latina sorority (no disrespect to the NPHC and the MGC, much love for them), there is no need to even think of joining a "white" sorority. Then the same people will complain that the system is discriminatory. Its a double edge sword; blame rests on both sides, but the girl utimately makes the final decision. I know for me, this fall, screw what everybody says, i'm looking for a sisterhood that suits me. :)
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Guess what song I heard on the radio today...
2,525 guesses;)
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Ditto what my sister astroAPhi said - I look forward to your rush thread!
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One Guy's Perspective
I'm glad to see this thread and pleased to see your responses. When I was in college, the fraternity and sorority chapters were completely segregated. Now, that is not the case. In fact, race seems to be a fast-fading issue in rush and the greek system is much better because of it. The established Black sororities, plus a growing number of multicultural sororities are strong and flourishing. The effect is an increase of minority women in the system, and to create more interest by minority women in Panhellenic sororities.
What I do not understand is the wording about no discrimination on the basis of personal appearance, intelligence or "personal beliefs". What worthwhile sorority eager to maintain high standards will not discriminate against someone of low intelligence, or poor personal appearance that is the result of sloth, or "personal beliefs" of the sort that would create distress in the chapter? If you don't choose your members with care, then you offer nothing different from an apartment complex or dorm. |
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sistermadly, you are now my favorite poster on gc!!!! i think, as with everything...there are always 2 sides. both sides have to meet half way in order for a change to happen. should the npc tie up black women, dress them in lilly's and force them to go through recruitment??? no. sometimes i wonder if the nphc doesn't have the right idea about recruitment (*note: i really don't know that much about the process, but from what i understand, there is a much different focus than npc rush). Quote:
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Thanks for the support, pinkyphimu! :)
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I wish I would have responded to this sooner. . .I completely agree. . .if I wasn't so tired of posting I would have said almost the same things myself. :D ;) |
Sistermadly and firehouse-I like BOTH of your posts!
My mother (75) and I were discussing this last night. I know the change seems slow to most people, but there IS change. Here is some honesty for you-I grew up not liking the segregation I saw in the smallest aspects of daily life, but it became the norm. I never took up a crusade, but griped about it. Then my daughter became friends with the most wonderful young woman who happened to be black, I'll call her Linda. One day Linda was the subject matter of her fellow black students in Journalism class. They were popping off how Linda was trying to be white. My daughter responded-WHY, because she doesn't have 6 inch long nails-use the "f" word or like rap music? Of course she didn't stop there. The point is Linda was being criticized because she was friends with white girls, had her own sense of style AND because she would not be intimidated by either "side". She sought her own success based on WHO SHE WAS. At the end of HS, one of those "bitter sweet" moments came. Linda gave my daughter a card that said how much thier friendship had meant...it had two little puppies on it, a black one and a blond one. She also said their paths would lead them different directions. Now, BOTH are at LSU. They BOTH pick and choose when and where they meet for lunch or visits. There are places NEITHER would go with the other. I know if Linda were to rush, my daughter and probably many in the group would LOVE her. Could she get in? Who knows. She is such a powerful, intelligent WONDERFUL example of not only a black woman, but of WOMANHOOD. I think the day will come when percentage wise, integration in GLOs will be the norm. I also think there will remain "nuts" you just can't crack. |
I just had a thought, and please do not take this the wrong way.
I am an African American young women in a NPC sorority. Let's just say that I did transfer to Auburn and I wanted to be active with my sorority there. Do you think that my house might get looked upon differently by the other sororitites because I am African American? Do you think that there my be more African Americans going through rush at Auburn, because there is an African American in a sorority there? Would it help or hurt my chapter during the rush process? I just want to see your thoughts on this. I know that I may be stretching the truth, but IT could happen. This senerio applies to the southern schools in question, not just Auburn. |
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I've just begun reading this thread and must comment on a couple of things. In the article from Time, it said that Bama had adjusted the dates of rush. Rush at Bama had historically been before classes began. Just a few years ago they began rushing later in the semester. This year they have gone back to rushing before classes because so many parents and students complained that the rush schedule and preparations left little time for study and grades were suffering. It had nothing to do with the subject of the article.
Now, don't blame all of the NPC groups for not having black members. The member of the administration who is responsible for Greek Affairs at Bama explained that to my husband recently. He said that there is even a name for the reason - "crabbing". Have you ever seen a bucket or net of live crabs? When one of them attempts to escape, it is pulled back into the mass by the rest. He says that if a black girl/guy attempst to rush a predominantly white group, it is well known that if she/he doesn't get a bid, she/he will NEVER get a bid from a predominantly black group. Quite a bit of pressure for an 18 year old, wouldn't you say? I don't know for sure, but I would venture to say that there are no white members of the predominantly black groups at Bama. I may be wrong and if I am, please correct me. My own sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, has black members (as well as many other races) all over the country - but no blacks at Bama. I still stick to my belief that each chapter has the right to choose its members. Who on earth would want to belong to a group where they were not wanted? And what group would want to pledge a person who was not a "fit" with their chapter. We do not discriminate based on race but sometimes that enters into the reason that a girl would not fit into a chapter. It is naive to think otherwise. By the way, I am a proud alumna of Nu Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha at the University of Alabama. |
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People are going to join a group that they feel comfortable in. Most black people that are used to being around all white wouldn't think twice about joining a black sorority and a white person who is used to being around all black people would probably never join a "white" sorority. I don't think the answer to segregation within the greek system is outreach, but I think that people need to be conscious that when someone comes to rush who is "different" that them make sure that they treat them the same as everyone else. This means black, white, handicapped, etc... |
Maybe I'm just way too idealistic, but when are we going to realize that we're not white, black, yellow, orange or freaking purple... we are people?
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I think what would be helpful is if "we" stopped treating "our" culture as a monolithic entity where (most) everyone thinks the same and acts the same. The only thing I have in common with Al Sharpton is my skin tone - the similarity ends there. I think segregation within the greek system -- and modern segregation as a WHOLE is partly self-segregation on the part of "our" folks. Another reason is what Nhfulmer alluded to in her post - if a black woman or black man decides to go out for Panhellenic or NIC rush and they don't get a bid, then there's the possibility that they'll be treated like a pariah by the NPHC chapters at their school. Quote:
astroAPhi - I'm a person, but I'm also a black person. It's an important part of my identity, but it's not my only identity. It feels a bit dismissive to me when people make comments like yours, because it's almost like asking me to cut off part of myself and throw it away just so we can all get along. But that's just one Phi's opinion. :) edited to take the stick out of my b*tt |
I didn't go to a competitive southern school, but from other rush threads I get the perception that if you're a transfer at a competitive school, they might ask you to rush again, or put you on 'probation', or not even ask you to affiliate. I think the "right of association" applies even on the local level. I'm not saying I agree with it though - cause if you're a SK, you should be a SK where ever you go.
Would other black women go through rush if they saw another black woman there? That's hard to know, and it depends on the individual. I know that when I was looking into Alum initiation, I checked out the magazines of the groups I was interested in and -- I hesitate to admit this -- I looked for folks who looked like me. When I saw "us" represented, it gave me a more favorable opinion of the group. It wasn't the deciding factor, but I definitely noticed. |
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But, I suspect that if one hearty woman tries and succeeds in breaking the NPC color barrier at Auburn, UA, Ole Miss, UGA, and LSU, others will follow. Sadly, I also believe that at least at the least progressive schools, it could impact not relations between other sororities, but between the sorority and other fraternities. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't the argument used by the discriminatory sorority members that, if they accepted a black member, that they would never be invited to do a mixer with certain fraternities? If there is a bond between a sorority and a fraternity (history of mixers, lots of dating or even marriage between members of those chapters), you can bet that it could be a concern. Like other people have said before, I don't think outreach is the question. I don't think it would mean a hill of beans if my organization got all of our members of color to pose for an ad for the NPC in Jet or Ebony, encouraging college students to consider us. Forced integration would be worse. I think some systems will never be integrated--not because of the ignorance of some of its white members or the negative attitudes of some blacks on campus--but just because of the campus environment. I consider myself a bleeding heart liberal idealist, but about topics like this, I am sadly very realistic. |
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I am trying to play devil's advocate. We live in 2003 and anything is possible. And this could happen here in the near future. I know that it kills me to think about this, but it's probably going to happen before we know it. That's why I do raise the question, so when the time comes we won't be so shocked. That's why we need to talk about it now. |
Just from what I have seen being in the south, sometimes I think the lack of diversity in NPC and NPHC is not so much the chapters, but the racial atmosphere of the surrounding area. At my university, there was a lot of racism from the professors and they made no effort to hide it. The minority population complained to the administration about the fact that there were only 3 minority profs. at the university. The racism was so bad that police on campus would stop random black male students and ask them for ID's as if they did not belong on the campus. Several of the professors assumed that the students of color were poor, ignorant, and uneducated because many people in that area were even though many of the students were not even from the area. My point is, with all this going on, why would you want to pledge a historically white org in the midst of racism. The sisters in XYZ could have been very tolerant and raised in a multicultural society, but the best attitude will not change the mindset of the people that would have been an asset to your org.
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Sistermadly, I'm very sorry if I offended you. I definitely think that we should all have pride in our culture. I just see too much segregation on the parts of ALL people. I'm one of those people who thinks that we're all made of the the same inside, and to exclude someone based on the outside is wrong. We're all different, and that's what makes everyone beautiful. (God do I feel like a hippie saying this.) If we all looked the same, how would we find something beautiful? It would all be boring!
I hope you realize that I meant in terms of looks, not in terms of culture. Maybe I should have explained that a little better. :( |
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Sometimes GC teaches you about the things that you think are horrible, but I'd rather be aware that it exists than naive and suddenly have a problem like this sprung on me one day. |
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. My point is, with all this going on, why would you want to pledge a historically white org in the midst of racism. The sisters in XYZ could have been very tolerant and raised in a multicultural society, but the best attitude will not change the mindset of the people that would have been an asset to your org.
This really is a thought provoking question. When I read about different aspect of NPHC, and hear the thoughts held about recruitment and sisterhood, I feel like it is an amazing organization and the Sororities are so special. I'm sure they have their inner problems just like NPC, but all in all I just admire the women here, on GC, that represent their orgs. Which makes the above question lead me to this- For all of you who came to the point where a decision had to be made between NPC or NPHC, what influenced you to rush NPC? Is this considered a hijack? |
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You didn't offend me. :) |
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informational before you decided to join a NPC organization or did you serious look into joining a NPHC group? And for people like sistermadly who was raised in a majority "minority" environment, what made you decide to join a HWGO over a HBGO? |
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I have my reasons. :D
Seriously - I do. And they're personal ones. It wasn't a big soul-ripping cultural choice that I was faced with. Why did justamom choose Alpha Chi Omega instead of any of the other organizations in the NPC? Why did you choose Zeta Sigma Chi instead of the NPHC/NPC? I guess what I'm getting at is that the "why" of this question isn't relevant (to me). It might be to other folks, but I just went where my heart and head told me to go. (edited to get ZChi's organization name right) |
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I didn't join a NPHC sorority because honestly, I was around all black people my entire life and I came to college to learn not only inside the classroom but outside of the classroom. I saw a need for a multicultural sorority not only for my campus but for myself. Being around such a wide variety of people who has such an intense pride in their culture has given me a greater pride in my own background. I wanted to be in an organization that main purpose was to gain a greater knowledge or yourself and others and that is what I found. I can understand a black person joining an NPC sorority that is diverse but it's hard for me to understand why a black person would join a NPC sorority that is 99% white if they were raised in an environment like myself. But that is why I'm here on GC to learn :D |
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All 4 of the NPHC sororities are on my campus. I researched all 4 of them online as well as attending as many programs as possible without being considered an interest. Plus, members from the different orgs are in my family. I've spent 3 yrs getting ahold of as much info as possible and researching the histories. All 4 are wonderful organizations, they all have done great things for the community, but I didn't find what I was looking for in any of them. Since I couldn't find any other reasons to do so, I decided to look at NPC and multi-cultural orgs. I love the NPHC but the NPHC sororities aren't for everyone. :) |
Wow
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