I think what does turn some minorities away from rushing NPC is the fact they feel they may be judged by their community. My best friend and Sis-daughter is African- American and she told me about how she felt like she was being judged by other African Americans on campus simply because she joined Alpha Gam and not a NPHC. I think they should have just been happy that she found a great sisterhood that was right for her.

There are various races in all Greek organizations but just because an organization is historically Black or Latino doesn't mean exclusive. I think that some white people have the same hang ups with joining these organizations as minorities have with NPC. But I commend those who go for what feels best to them regardless of what their peers may think. We all know that at some point in history member selection process factored in the race and or religion, whether it is still going on now who knows because some people are to close minded accept something different then themselves.I think it is time to move on in a positive direction I am not saying forget the past but lets look at the future. Sisterhood is all about a connection you feel with a certain group. Find a group that you make that connection with and don't settle for anything less.

We were rushing this girl and gave her an open bid and she signed it, but then never began pledging. She told sisters it was because she was getting hassled by members of the NPHC groups on campus. Funny how she ended up pledging a different NPC the next year with no "hassle." :rolleyes:

I'm not saying it never happens - obviously it does, or we wouldn't have believed her explanation - but I think sometimes it really is a load of hooey.

I could see that happening...why do we (black folks) have to always bring each other down when one of us gets into something mostly white? At the end of the day we're all black being in NPC doesnt mean you switch sides. However I keep wondering how I could find sisterhood with people who may not understand someone of a different ethincity. I've been in my share of clubs and had my share of white friends, the majority of them were nice but acted as if I was from Mars when it came to certian things....go figure.

Clearly you didn't attend the last Black People Convention, for if you had, you'd know it's in our collective mission to socially ostracize black women in NPCs. (Refer to your Little Black Book, Chapter 7, Section C: The NPHC shall destroy all others who stand in our way....)

I.CAN'T.BREATHE.

I don't think you got the point of my post.

She didn't refrain from pledging us because black people were "bringing her down" or pressuring her in any way. She didn't pledge us because she wanted to pledge another NPC sorority that she liked better and instead of having the balls to say so, she blamed it on the black/white thing.

Because you are a woman. Women from the north don't always understand people from the south and vice versa, but they are women. Jewish women and Christian women definitely have different backgrounds, but can share a sisterhood. (And Buddhists, etc.) Heck women with weight problems experience life differently than those who don't. Once you find your home in a sisterhood, that will be your bond. We are all different in many different ways. Focus on the values of the group and follow your heart.

You just need to observe greek culture more without making assumptions because it's obvious you know very little regarding the topic. That girl was probably lieing. She is only one person and we don't actively recruit, hassle, or go after anyone. I doubt she was close enough to members in the NPHC to make them want to "hassle" her about anything. Just observe please. Befriend some NPHC/NPC members on your campus or something (although one campus/chapter may not be the best example to provide insight).

:rolleyes:

Can we change the title of this thread? There is a lot of NPHC discussion for the name to be accurate anymore.

The thread title still applies because the NPHC is a part of the equation for many blacks who choose the NPC. :cool:

I think, in part, women just treat each other badly when we (other women) do things that the other does not like. i have a lot of older female relatives who act like there is something seriously wrong with me because at 18 I went to college instead of getting married and/or having babies.

It is my opinion that this behavior is not just a race thing, but more just human behavior.

Yes, so I assume you only mentioned "women" in the earlier part of your post because the thread is about NPC. The logic equally applies to men. :)

Let's be honest here folks... Some African American NPC members here on GC were lamenting about the absence of other African American women within their ranks and they are wondering why they experienced this issue?

Now we have a young lady here who grew up in a world and misses the point about the kind of historical ostracism endured by NUMEROUS African American women, especially after college graduation. These women have told me the problems they have encountered practically makes them cuckoo--especially when dealing with bigotry and racism...

Now, hey, none of the NPHC women care if Black woman joins a different organization. So what is it to us? We do get membership requests to join by women at the graduate level and when we background check them and determined they have joined a different organization, we have to deny them membership. At the undergraduate level, we are almost getting to the point to saying that if that is what homegirl wanted, then good luck!

But what the NPHC is talking about is "marketability"--answering the question about who's our market. Currently, the NPHC sororities' market generally are women of African descent and their causes and issues. For my Sorority, entrepreneurship/businesses is our programmatic focus. Since, Soror Johnson-Sirleaf the current President of Liberia is a member, that means we are global in our outreach programs.

The other NPHC sororities also have their global programs, especially in Africa--that is beyond money, food, books and clothes. It means members help build hospitals, schools and agriculture.

My question remains unanswered :rolleyes: Why do any of the NPHC Sororities continually have to justify our actions to non-members who really will never apply to membership? Aren't we just wasting resources?

It took me forever to find this article. I read it as a freshman in high school and decided right then and there i would never join a sorority. (haha)

Please keep in mind that this article is old, 2000 i believe and it takes place at a southern school. I like to think that this would not happen on most campuses.

Im not trying to insult any one (or group) by posting this article. I just wanted to contribute it to the discussion.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...,58980,00.html

the only plus of being a white greek org is the networking. other than that, why would you do it yourself? the cultural differences, ignorance, and just flat out isolation that is inevitable. i wouldn't do it.

as a black woman, and the only black woman, in my chapter, i have never thought that any statement about greek life was so ignorant and so wrong.

i have never experience the love and support that my sisters provide me from anyone expect my parents. you obviously know nothing about greek life, NonGreekOne.

and wtf, you can get networking from black groups too, so thats not really a plus.

You may not, and I'm sure most of the more older and mature graduate members of NPHC orgs may not, but we all know that attitudes are different in the undergraduate level.

My school probably has the most diverse IFC/NPC membership of any school, and yet my Black grand-big sister has had instances where she has been treated condescendingly by NPHC sorority members when they discover she belongs to an NPC sorority.

Some people need to stop living in this Utopian GC world where everyone accepts everyone and everyone gets along, because that is not the case in real life.

What black groups?

You attend a PWI, right? Do you still have Affirmative Action in your state? Because my state does not. So the numbers of African Americans matriculating thru the schools are dwindling--like 400 during Affirmative Action and 89 after abolishment of Affirmative Action. So when the numbers of African American women are small, or dayum near absent, the ability to seek qualified members on these campi are removed.

Undergraduates who are members of NPHC Sororities are bombarded with questions by their supervising graduate chapter and alumnae members to explain why little interest on their campi. Why would a nice African American college aged woman NOT want to be interested in XYZ NPHC sorority? We have scholarships, internships, specialized programs in their majors--WTH is wrong with you all? Apparently, that anger and frustration is transferred to non-members.

The reason why I am vehement is a because I was a former graduate advisor. That is how come I know what it takes to be a member at the undergraduate level. When a young lady chooses something else versus us, our talent base gets diffused. It means that the student population--specifically the GLO population is NOT talking to each other, which breed division and ignorance. Better guidance and advising with cultural competency by adults will further enrich the experiences of all GLOs on your campuses. That does not go on to say a girl who wants to be part of whatever other sorority cannot be. What that means in the best interests and long-term outlook, what are her true intentions? If she is joining an NPC sorority for "better networking"--because Caucasian people have better networks--then that is foul. Believe me, we in the NPHC are quite adept in detecting that lunacy. Same with us, if a non-Black girl wants to join an NPHC we are going to ask well how hard are you going to work in the face of bigotry and ignorance?

Maybe we have to do a mock Recruitment period to see if we like it? I don't know? Just throwing ideas out there...

How well has your GLO outreached to ANY NPHC Sorority?

No, Florida does not. I attend a "PWI" but make-up of the university is 58% Hispanic and African Americans constitute 13% of the student body, so the IFC/NPC membership is pretty diverse and membership in GLOs reflects the demographics of the school (FIU in case you were wondering).

Nothing is wrong with NPHC sororities. Perhaps some Black girls just feel more at home in an NPC org. And isn't that what fraternities and sororities are all about fundamentally- feeling at home where you are?

Well, the last time I spoke to one of your sisters of the Simga "Pretty" Pi chapter, she informed me that there were 10 active undergraduates and that 2 were seniors. This was around April. Being that the population of NPHC sororities at my school is very small, not much can be done.

But if you must know, we have a cordial relationship with AKAs and were pretty much the only IFC fraternity that wished them a happy founders day on January 15th. The Deltas and Zetas in Miami are a city-wide chapter, so they are barely seen on campus. No SGRhos.

So, you're right, its hard to do any outreach when numbers are low.

Lemme explain it to you this way our Graduate chapters oversee our undergraduate chapters. There is this symbiotic relationship. Yes, at some point, the undergraduate chapters are "independent" - free to choose their members (to some degree). I can ONLY speak on Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. So, without the Graduate chapter's "blessing" so to speak, the UG chapter does NOT exist... Period...

With that being said, how does an UG chapter explain to a 25+ years in the Sorority member that there are no members to be found at a school like yours--and that is because today, sorority sister's daughter wants to join another "type" of sorority--given the kinds of commitments we uphold?

Are you understanding my question?



I am unclear on what you are saying? Help me understand? Are you saying there is no purpose for a chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at your University? Are you saying that you have intimate knowledge of what it took to charter a chapter from my Sorority on your campus? You know there is a reason why a chapter was chartered there--and it usually is not because some member thought it would be cool because that is false...

I think the original comment about African Americans who join NPC sororities are being judge by other African American students wasn't specifically directed to members of NPHC members. I think it is more of the other students in that community who don't understand Greek life who pass judgment.

Now you have said like three times that you don't care if an African American woman joins NPC sorority, but obviously you do since you keep saying things like "WTH is wrong with you all". I am sure they understand how wonderful your GLO is but there was something about it that didn't seal the deal. It could the size of the organization or just the personalities of the members. Who knows what that thing is but I don't think it is meant for anyone to understand their decision but them.

My schools Greek system has tried numerous time to reach out to the one NPHC sorority on our campus. Panhellenic sent them two dozen roses to tell them good luck with recruitment, we have invited them to participate in our all Greek tailgate, We asked them to participate in Greek Week, We made sure to have representatives from the sororities at their campus wide events to show them support. I know my chapter made it a requirement to go to their probate because they are Greek just like us and we should all support each other in some form or fashion. BUT they didn't come to the tailgate and they didn't participate in Greek Week. So my question for you is how has your GLO outreached to any NPC sororities?

We also get membership requests from many black women before and after they rush (successfully and unsuccessfully) an NPC org. :cool:

Just as there are blacks who pursue a certain NPHC org because another NPHC org isn't on the yard--and they sometimes think they can transfer membership when the other org comes back--there are blacks who pursue non-NPHC orgs for the same reason.

Eh...there is no Utopian GC world. AKA Monet is talking about something much greater than what you're talking about. And the greater point resonates with both undergraduate and graduate NPHC members. Not all but enough for there to be a greater point.

Yes, there are undergraduate NPHCers who give blacks in the NPC a raised eyebrow. I was one of them years ago (and I give them a raised eyebrow now) because of the intolerant climate on my campus, and others, and the reputation of some of the fraternities on campus. The 2 black men in HWGLOs on my campus were told they were "different" and we couldn't understand why anyone would want to be in a chapter where they are being validated as being "different (from the rest of the blacks that these dudes knew)." The two black guys in the 2 fraternities were cool as hell (one of them had an Omega father) and they learned not to separate themselves from the other blacks, just because they were feeling like they had to be "different." There were no NPHC frats chartered on the campus, anyway, and they chose not to pursue membership through another chapter---who cares? We didn't ask them about their fraternity and they never shared info--we just wanted to connect on a people level with men who were really not "different" when they realized that they weren't under the scrutiny of their fraternity brothers when they were around us.

The one black girl in an NPC sorority on campus was received a certain way because she was afraid to talk to black people. We continuously tried to engage her because we knew she was probably a very nice person. One day we asked her about her experience (this was probably before we were in NPHC orgs ourselves) and she cheerfully (always cheerful because she's such a sweetheart) confessed that she wasn't used to being around black people. She's the nicest person in the world and her heart was always in the right place.

My problem: If you want to pursue a nonNPHC organization, most of us at the undergrad and grad level TRULY don't give a damn beyond making the initial observation. But if you're doing it because you've been touted as "different," because you're not used to be around blacks, or are afraid of blacks then YES people will respond to you accordingly. That's not about being in the NPC or IFC, that's about YOU.

And for blacks in the NPC who say they don't have to explain themselves or they did what makes them happy and seek no validation, I beg to differ in many cases.

A very similar event happened at my school, Texas A&M, when I was a senior UG in 1991. An NPC sorority extended a bid to an African American woman, through a COB event I think, and half the chapter split. One half of the chapter wanted to give her a bid, the other half threatend to turn in their pin if the AfAm got the bid. I don't remember what came of it, but in the end I don't think that chapter is at A&M anymore.

Honestly, I think in the end campus climate has much to do with it. Because quite honestly, back in the day (pre-MIP), I probably would not have joined a UG NPHC org had I attended certain HBCUs - the hazing done was ridiculous!!

I hear what youre saying, but we've had MANY a thread that have discussed NPHC and (not being able to participate in) Greek Week.

And i can understand AKAMonet, as i will be a graduate advisor for the first time and anticipate similar issues. I can imagine things like participating in Greek Week is minor compared to ... making sure your chapter exists from semester to semester. NPC chapters for the most part dont have to worry about this, even with a constant flow of graduating seniors being replaced with the next year's incoming pledge class. Recruitment is really an all-year thing for many NPHCs, after the informationals are over, after the neos come out on the yard, and all that. The question of chapter longevity is a constant.

In particular to the campus i will be working with, we're not so much dealing with blacks joining NPCs but joining locals. not that there is anything wrong with that, but this school, i think locals pull rank over the NPC orgs in recruitment.

Yes, I understand.

No, I am not saying any of that lol. I'm not sure how you took that from my post. I was just trying to respond to your question of what my GLO has done to outreach any NPHC sorority on my campus.

I prefaced it with the small size of the AKA chapter here and the lack of visibility from other NPHC sororities to make that point that it is hard to do any outreach when numbers are low.

So, you would raise an eyebrow at Molly Minority because she was raised in a predominantly White neighborhood, went to predominantly White schools, had mostly White friends, and decided to join ABC NPC org?

Look, I think the mission and purpose of NPHC orgs are great in addition to the reason as to why they were founded. But sometimes I feel as if though members get so caught up in "We do so much for the AfAm community! Why do some Black girls go NPC?!?!" (AKAMonet) that they fail to remember that the FUNDAMENTAL purpose of ANY fraternity or sorority is to feel at home and find YOUR brotherhood/sisterhood.

How can Molly Minority be successful in XYZ NPHC org if her heart isn't in it?

I can agree with this. Anytime an interest gives me spiel about "wanting to give back to the community" and what not, i tell them to go join NAACP or NCNW. Yes, we are service organizations but we serve social outlets just as much. Playing up too much on one or the other can be a turn off for potential members.

Such as the case at a Greek 101 i attended. One NPHC sorority, every time she answered a question from the audience, always brought it back to how much of a "business" the organization is and that the fun aspects dont matter if the business isnt right, etc. even as the event ended, this chapter's table only displayed the business side of their accomplishments - awards received, pictures with politicians, and some scant pamphlets. There was no chit-chat, it was so no-nonsense. Some of those girls left looking a little let-down.

When youre talking to a room full of undergraduates, that can be a little daunting. Of course they have to know that our organizations require work and obligations, but they have to also know that they are going to enjoy it too.

ETA: i personally dont mind if Molly Minority joins an NPC. for some, the research and all that jazz isnt that deep. they want their sisterhood, they want their parties, and they want it their first week of their freshman year. whatever works for you Molly. some folks dont have time or patience to be waiting on XYZ to come back to campus. and who are we to judge, regardless of the status of OUR chapter membership?

LOL.

well, we got an asian. filipino to be exact.

What do "predominantly" and "mostly" mean as it relates to not being used to being around black people or not being able to relate to black people?

hewwo :o

Haha...the bolded in the context of the unbolded is like smiling while you slap the crap out of someone.

hi wifey.

Meaning.... she grew up with limited exposure to AfAm culture, never really hung out with any other black girls, had little to nothing in common with other black people, etc.

ETA: And consequently would not feel at home in an NPHC sorority.

Sucks to be her.

But "predominantly" and "mostly" don't have to mean that. When people allow it to mean that, that's their fault.

haha. well, im just saying. i really didnt mean any cynicism there. perhaps ive gotten so cynical that i dont realize it when i type.

and we ALL know that one AfAm, PantherTEKE. let them do them. they aint worried about us.

teehee

They all "do them" until they get reminded that they're black. Then they want to "do us." But we're open arms. :)