Black Greek/Multicultural letter rules?
 

Hi guys,

I was curious, why can't you write black greek or MGC greek letters anywhere?

Our fraternity wanted to write So-and-so hearts sorority X, doing this for every sorority on campus just as easy PR, but found out it may not be appropriate?

Is it just a respect thing...?

There is no standard across the board, but generally, it's because protocol states that letters are reserved for members of said organizations.

As for Delta Sigma Theta, do not use us "as easy PR" and do not use our symbols. We have enough people who really heart us. Find another way to advertise your fraternity and recruit members.

Owch.. to be fair, my school has TWO black chapters, both of which have 1 and 3 members on a campus of 30,000+. Sorry for trying to be inclusive?

These "black chapters" have hundreds of thousands of members in their national organizations. I'm sure DrPhil knows what she's talking about when she says the PR isn't necessary.

could i become an AKA after im already an eastern star?

And the "easy PR" is for HIS chapter of HIS GLO. It is always amusing and insulting when people pretend they are doing other chapters ("Black chapters" in this case) an unsolicited favor. His after-the-fact justification makes his chapter's "easy PR" seem even more silly. If real inclusion (read: his after-the-fact justification for the "easy PR") is what they want, there are more sincere and more lasting ways to go about it. Step 1 is to learn more about the NPHC sorority chapters beyond "TWO black chapters, both of which have 1 and 3 members on a campus of 30,000+." I TRULY doubt that is accurate.

Greekchat is not the place to ask this question.

Hats off to knight_shadow and DrPhil for handling this matter.

It is accurate. This is why there is such a large divide between historically black greek organizations and PHC/IFC on my campus. They're not willing to educate and have an attitude. On my campus the advertise as "BLACK" organizations. Sorry for approaching you about this, maybe it was asked bluntly, but don't act as if your organization is above curiosity. There needs to be equal respect for our outreach. The BGLOs are withering away on our campus for that exact reason. There is ZERO mutual respect.

The PR wasn't exclusively for the benefit of the fraternity. We're trying to incorporate the other two organizations, showing inclusivity cross councils.

Hats off to a dying organization that claims to be multicultural but merely isolates themselves and promotes bigotry. It's time to rethink culturally exclusive chapters. The traditionally "white" chapters have.. why not you?

Your campus =/= these organizations as a whole. If you were really THAT curious, you would have done a little research and realized that.

It's not up to non-PHC/IFC organizations to "educate" you. If you are interested in them, take it upon yourself to learn about them. If you had any clue what these organizations were about or how these organizations operate, you'd know that spending time worrying about t-shirts is not high on the list of priorities. But you're stuck in your campus bubble, so it's easier for you to pass judgement.

And regarding that last paragraph -- go eat a hot, steaming bowl of shit.

Perhaps it's time to rethink your rather arrogant assumption that these organizations (which are hardly dying, and which very well may have different views about small chapters) should relate to you on your terms and according to your expectations.

OP, your ignorance is showing.

I am psychic. Call me now for your $1913 reading.

Totally off topic, but curious.
If a chapter is really as small as 1-3 members how does it operate? I know some chapters are not campus specific so is that possibly the case here? What happens if all those members graduate before they recruit new members?

NPHC orgs are not so much concerned about number of members, as they are concerned about finding the right fit for the chapter / org.

Being a member of SGR, we typically have smaller chapters here in Texas. It is not unusual to have a chapter of 3 -5 members. Each member understands that the activities and events must get done, so we do them. Let me just say, there is not room for slackers in a small chapter.

I guess what I am trying to say is that for the most part, NPHC orgs are not consumed by numbers like the NPC with totals and quotas. We don't need to have a high member count, which would imply a lot of money in the treasury, to get things done. Besides, NPHC orgs are more about service than the social aspect.

Some NPHC organizations have a minimum number required to be an active chapter with and without needing "special dispensation" (or some equivalent, depending on the organization).

If the NPHC sorority chapters are really (meaning, I think the OP is too ignorant to really know) 1-3 members at a campus of 30,000+ students, those NPHC chapters are already doing, or working toward doing, what they need to do to remain active chapters. Thus, they do not need any favors (based on predictable stupidity and ignorance) from the OP and his fraternity chapter.

Aside from what sigmadiva and DrPhil said, some chapters enlist the help of other members in their regions (alumni and collegiate).

I would be absolutely shocked if the OP actually knew how many members the NPHC groups are actually in the chapters on his campus.

;)

Exactly.

Unfair!!! You know that puppy is my weakness. :)

On our campus the number of members for ALL greek orgs are published along with their average GPA.

Undergraduate chapters of Theta Nu Xi range from two members to twelve members with the average being about seven members. We cap membership at thirty members per undergraduate chapter, though we haven't yet had a problem with any chapter exceeding the maximum.

Others have mentioned in this thread the importance of local and regional support. While our chapters are distinct, our national identity is more relevant. Even if you see only two members on a campus roster, there are twenty+ other people behind the scenes making the magic happen. There have been instances where everyone in a chapter graduates leaving no members, but intake is still held the next semester and the work continues without missing a beat.

For Theta Nu Xi, and others, the number of members isn't as important as the work output of the individuals. We'd rather have three members who are working hard than fifteen members who aren't doing much.

Do those people behind the scenes tend to be alumnae from that chapter, a local association or from the national hq? I am really curious as to how involved they are. Do they help out like they were active members or more like an adviser?

Exactly.

While it may seem like these organizations aren't doing much, there are typically far more pressing matters that we're concerned with. Organizing a voter registration drive at a local community center is often more important to us than earning blue ribbon points for Greek Week, so don't be surprised if our members aren't tripping over themselves to practice for lip-sync or t-shirt time.

Not disagreeing with your post at all, but as "importance" can be a relative or even context-dependent thing, I'd say soimething more along the lines of "is much more important for our group/some groups." This is a prime example of differences in priorities and focuses/raisons d'être from one group to another.

The support comes from members in the area, whether they are alumnae from the chapter or not. Usually, the only people serving as advisors are the formal Chapter Advisors, who are recognized by the National Board. Everyone else who contributes gets involved with the direct work. They'll assist in many areas from tabling to marketing to event planning and execution. The arrangement is informal, so the chapter and their supporters come to their own decisions about what type of involvement is needed.

You could say that they participate as if they were active members, but there is a distinct line and the decision-making comes from the active chapter members, unless responsibilities are specifically delegated.

Yes, sir.

Even if it wasn't stated, I took it as implied that knight_shadow was referring to organizations like his own. In terms of each group's raison d'être, something I find interesting is that the end result is often the same. Members of GLOs graduate from college with life skills that help them get jobs, maintain great networks, etc. The methods to get there are often very, very different though.

Duly noted (and edited :))

I did too, actually. But knowing how some people can read these threads, I wanted to avoid any misunderstandings.

MysticCat's edit is appropriate even when knight_shadow's distinction was implied. We want to stay away from even the appearance of ranking concerns and experiences.

On that note, my chapter's experiences mirrored knight_shadow's post and it caused a lot of tension among some of the Greeks on my campus, including the idea that NPHC GLOs are not "real GLOs."

Of course. I was pointing out that even without the clarification, it was implied. Anyone who would view it differently is only looking for a fight.

Co-sign for the chapters I advise. The OP really needs to understand this issue.

And we never get anybody like that here at GC. :p

Calling it like I see it!

Or looking for clarification. There are plenty of things on Greekchat that are technically implied, or assumed, but I respond because they need to be explicitly stated.

He actually doesn't need to understand. LOL. He neither has to care nor understand. He can sit his behind down and make "so-and-so loves XYZ" for the OTHER sororities. :)

My hopeful optimism was showing. :p

The NPC groups would probably LOVE it. Although it does sound to me more like something a sorority would do than a fraternity.

This thread reminds me of how a couple years ago, Pitt was putting the NPHC groups in the doghouse for being "too small" without bothering to ask them (or their national headquarters) how they operate and why their size WASN'T a problem.

There was a similar situation at my alma mater.

Every year, we had to submit a packet to Greek life to demonstrate that we were operating like "good GLOs." It was developed using DU's "standards of excellence" packet, though.

That meant that non-IFC/PHC organizations were docked points because there were sections about housing and other things that were only relevant to those organizations. It took several years for those sections to be removed.

Unfortunately, I still hear about NPHC/NALFO/etc organizations being held to exactly the same standards as their NIC/NPC counterparts, whether it's fair or not.

Illinois requires at least three people to remain a registered student organization. That seems reasonable to me, and I can understand why a university would be hesitant to recognize a chapter with ONE person.

I agree and a one member chapter is not ideal for any NPHC organization. A chapter below three members is actually relatively rare for active NPHC chapters. The national and regional/district HQs for all NPHC organizations have policies and practices in place to deal with chapters that are considered small, or smaller than the ideal, for that particular NPHC fraternity or sorority.

Also, having three members or less in an active chapter is more common for a small college/university than for a large school. It is extremely uncommon for a 30,000+ school unless it is a city-wide chapter or there have been chapter difficulties of some sort. That is why I would love to know which school the OP attends and whether BOTH NPHC chapters are as small as he claims.