Asian-American greeks
 

I have been looking in the old threads and there has been heated discussion regarding Caucasian women in NPHC organizations (so heated it was actually closed) and African-American women/men in IFC orgs. I was just wondering if asians'presences in "white" sororities or fraternities is also such a hot topic, or is it even an issue at all? Do any of your houses have any asian members? There's 3 of us in ours after this girl graduated...also I know that asians are starting to found their own GLO's in the recent years and I am curious what is their rep/impact in your campus...in NIU we have an asian sorority (they've been around for mayb just 3 yrs)and an fraternity (just got recognized as a local by the school this spring)so they're real small, but they're starting to get their name out there. I'm looking forward to your responses =)

My freshman year, one of the graduating seniors was from Tokyo. He was a great guy, and lives and works in Indianapolis now. In my class is a guy that's half Japanese, and half Polish. That makes for an interesting combo http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif My roommate from sophomore year's parents are from Malaysia, but he was born in Holland, and raised in Washington State. In the class under me, one of the guys is 1/4 Chinese and looks exactly like Beavis, swear to God! He's an international hardbody too, won in PCB spring break last year, and in Cancun this year.

So I guess...no it's not an issue http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif there are no non-NIC/NPC houses at my campus though.

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

In my chapter there are several Amerasians (I hope that's the correct terminology). They are half Asian, half caucasion, or white. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/redface.gif They are all beautiful women. In fact, out president is half Japanese. She is beautiful, smart and very together. She's a great leader. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

There is an Asian American Sorority here at the U of Az. It's called Alpha Phi Gamma. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Oh yeah...I don't think it's an issue at all. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif
[This message has been edited by shopgirl (edited June 06, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by shopgirl (edited June 06, 2001).]

We have a bunch of Asian Americans in our sorority, one including who was a founder. This was never an issue on our campus.

Hey carnation! yes, I am one! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

My chapter is about half Asian. Some are mixed but most aren't. I love them all!

We're the only NPC chapter on campus w/ such a LARGE number of Asians. When it comes to rush we don't only compete w/ the 7 other "white" chapters. Rushees that consider the 2 Asian sororities usually take a good long look at us too.

We have two brothers of Asian origin. One is Vietnamise, and the other is half Japanise. Its never been an issue. 'Course our chapter is pretty diverse.

in our chapter, we have had a few asian-americans.. one that is still talked about is mimi.. i never met her, but i heard she was the MOST fabulous girl you could ever meet. we have had a few more that quit while pledging and never became sisters..(not due to their race or anything, but due to $ issues, etc.). but it is definitely not a big issue on our campus. my ex-bf's fraternity (theta chi) just recently had their first asian-american pledge in the fall of 2000! (he made it to become a brother http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif)

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it's hard being a princess...AGD

In my pledge class, we had 3 asians (out of 20), and our chapter overall has 6 (out of 77) asian members. It's definitely not an issue, and I'm pretty sure almost every chapter on campus has a member of asian decent. Also, we have lambda phi epsilon and alphaKDPhi, both asian-interest groups, on-campus and IFSC recognized.

In my chapter, more than half of my sisters are part Asian (myself included). As with the black/white topic, being an Asian-American isn't an issue at all with my chapter, and I really don't understand why it's such a heated topic elsewhere.

Three local sororities on my campus were founded in the late 1940s as Asian interest groups--the Beta Beta Gammas (Korean), Kappa Sigma Chis (Chinese) and the Wakaba Kai Sorority (Japanese). Their numbers have decreased a lot in recent years, but some girls decide to join those sororities because of their Asian focus.

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"I don't know the secret to success, but one sure way to failure is to try and please everyone."--Bill Cosby


Visit Alpha Gamma Delta-Delta Sigma chapter and help some sisters out!

[This message has been edited by OohTeenyWahine (edited June 06, 2001).]

About alpha Kappa Delta Phi...

I think they're the first and only national Asian-interest sorority. We don't have one on my campus, but a good friend of mine is a member of that sorority at a school in California and I've heard so many great things about this sorority. It's an Asian-interest sorority that was created in 1990 at UC-Berkeley, and in just a short period of time they've established chapters in different parts of the country! I've known of many locals that have found it hard to even expand to be regional...but these gals know how to do it!

I've been reading all your responses and looks like they're all positive...that's real great to hear! =) AGDsexysmoker, we have a girl like that in our chapter too. She's Vietnamese and her name is Thao. She graduated two years ago but people still talk about her. I've never met her either but those kind of people must have really made some sort of strong impact (not to say that every member doesn't give an impact!) if up to this day the actives talk praises about this member to pledges,new initiates, etc. I wish someday I could be like that too =D

There are a bunch of Asian-Americans on Greekchat!

we've got a bunch of asian american greeks in Phi Beta Sigma & Zeta Phi Beta. As a matter of fact a friend of mine pledged Sigma around the same time I pledged Sigma.

I'm asian, and the only non-white person in my chapter. It's not weird or uncomfortable :P I don't regard myself as different than any of my sisters. I was born and raised in the 'burbs of Atlanta. My school is in the deep south...Woooo...lol Why would being asian be an issue? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif


[This message has been edited by AlphaGam1019 (edited June 07, 2001).]

Well I was just wondering if it's an issue but I guess it really isn't...I just started this thread after reading about the one caucasians in NPHC and african-americans in NPC/IFC..and people talked about how it should stay separate, blah blah. I don't really know why asians aren't an issue but the other ones are, but i guess it has something to do with history, right?--or at least, from what I gather from that thread it seems to be.

Wow, we have a lot of Asians here!
I myself also asian, I am originally from Indonesia. It is not an issue here at Iowa State University, but some rednecks asked me how come I joined a fraternity house ...
Of course we (asians) add some diversity, and the fact that I am rush chairman this summer shows that my brothers believe in me http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/icons/icon10.gif

I'm Asian too. Though I was born in Switzerland, both of my parents are Indonesian. One is Sundanese (Java Island) and the other one is Madurese (Madura Island). I also have an older "brother" who is a Balinese. This is weird, but it seems the dude and my dad work together on a lot of business. He is about 2 years older then me and his father passed away a while back. So he adopted my father as his father. I'm still tryiing to figure that out.

i've never had anyone pop mess to me in my face, but i've heard guys say something behind my back. most of the women were pretty openminded and actually intriuged. but then again, most of them thought i was hispanic or something. i've seen filipino nupes, sigmas, zetas, aka's...the whole nine (no pun intended). i've gripped up a few asian dudes. but i was the first at our campus and the yard was messed up by it, especially when they saw me hop and step. plus they thought i added a little ummphh to the steps (women were usually the ones who went crazy at the stuff i did, not like it was wild or nothing, maybe just the whole shock.). "look at jackie chan hop, i didn't know they could do it." :D :D :D

I had a different experience with this. When I was a freshman, I had no idea I was going to be pledging and Asian fraternity let alone a fraternity at all. I pledged them because they were the first friendly face that I met at SDSU. I dropped because I, after a while, realized I didn't have much in common with them and their interests, for I didn't have many Asian friends in HS. Not that they're interests/hobbies are bad, just that I wasn't particularly into them. I do, on the other hand, like what they stand for and their "intrests" in that regard.

As far as Delta Sig goes, I guess it's never really been an issue because my chapter here is so diverse. We have a mix of caucasians, Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, and other nationalities. I love being a Delta Sig at SDSU, one of the big reasons is because I feel comfortable with all the bros, and that might be because race had never been a problem.

I'm half-Japanese, and there are several other Asian brothers in our chapter. Never had any issues.

I'm not Asian, but the collegiate chapter that I volunteer with is predominately Asian. I hear that there's the perception that Alpha Phi is the "Asian sorority" on my campus.

When I lived in the Southern US I frequently saw Asian women and Latinas represented in NPC sororities. When I went through rush, I was told that none of the NPC chapters at my school would give me a bid because I was black but the majority of the chapters there had several Asian women as members. I never understood why Asian and Latina women never seemed to experience the barriers to membership in NPC chapters that Black women seem to face.

We have two Alumni Members who are of Asian desecent. One who is of Taiwainese ( I hope I spell it correct) graduated back in '93 and went back to his homeland. The Other is of Vietnamese who is currently a Doctor and working at the University of Maryland. He has his own practice.

Im asian, there's and Indian in my chapter right now too, and we also have like 3 alumni who are Asian. Im also the first Asian as wll as minority to be the President of my chapter :o)

Over at Lambda Chi Alpha at UC Riverside our fraternity is really diverse. We have everyone from Middle Eastern to Indian to Asian. Its a nice mix of people and we really learn about each others cultures.

I am Chinese American. My family has been here since 1900.

Dang Jon, I thought you were Italian!!!

WAAAAAAAh BAAAAAAW!


Damn Bro. Hell. I am Heinz 57, with a little S***T thrown in!!!!

Never made no mind to me anyway! Youse is You as no one else will ever be !!

If you turn everyone skin side in and on their heads, what do you see?

Da, Feet Of Course!!!!!! :D

I'm Vietnamese American and one of the founders of my chapter is Samoan. Although the Sammys have a large Jewish membership base (it was founded as a Jewish fraternity), the newer chapters are more racially diverse, while the older ones are becoming more heterogeneous with each passing semester.

God willing, the Greek world will have a new Japanese member at Valdosta State this fall and a new Filipina member at Auburn, West Georgia, or Jax State next fall!:D :D :D

Nope! Easy, peasy, (half) Japanesey. :D

I know that I can't wait to read about the whole rush process. :D :cool:

I'm Asian-American (Thai).:)

A year before I joined Alpha Phi, one of my friends was starting an Asian American Sorority and asked me to be a Founding Mother. I seriously considered it, but I knew that I wanted to be in a diverse sisterhood, and the benefits of being in an International sisterhood intrigued me more. I politely declined. I stayed great friends with her and the girls in the local. They are doing great at SFSU and have a great sisterhood.

When I joined Alpha Phi, all the National Sororities had a lot of Asian members. It was never an issue being Asian-American (or any minority for that matter) in an NPC sorority at SFSU.

I know people would never dream of saying anything negative about their organization, but I find somethings weird when topics such as this are brought up. Everyone always says that they NEVER had any issues in their fraternity or sorority because they are in the minority. I'm not saying there is racism in every NPC/IFC chapter, but I know there has to be racism somewhere. Someone has to know at least one person in another group that had a hard time or do we just not pay attention to things like that? No one ever said or did anything that was offensive? If it is ignored how can it be corrected? I am just waiting for a story of someone talking about how their sisters/brothers made stupid remarks or had a wrong stereotype about a their group and they had to educate them. I don't know, maybe sisterly and brotherly love just removes all ignorance???:rolleyes:

I'm coming to the conclusion that most of us here are more intelligent than the average bear. Most of us aren't ignorant racists who live under a rock and sit around and complain that all the blacks, Asians, etc. are ruining the world. Most of us here on GreekChat aren't what people consider to be the stereotypical Greek. We know how to have a good time, but most of us are anti-hazing, big on risk management, and most of all, big on brotherhood and sisterhood.

I will admit, in a perfect world, there wouldn't be a need for black/white/multicultural/asian fraternities and sororities because we all SHOULD be multicultural. But some morons way back when decided their skin color was better than others, and we've been fighting the consequences ever since. I know the world's not perfect, and it's our job to fix it. I'm not trying to blow sunshine up people's asses and be all inspirational... I'm saying what I truly believe and what I truly wish things could be like.

In my chapter, we have a nice mix of girls from different backgrounds, but I will admit that we are predominantly white. We've had only one problem with being supposedly racist, and it wasn't anything we actually did. When I went through rush, there was one African-American girl and two girls from the Caribbean going through with me. I know one of them for sure was actually really high on our bid list, but she and the other two went XYZ. They are great women, and they all lived on my floor. The next semester, another African-American girl joined XYZ. Well, the next year at Formal Recruitment, someone told all the girls that Alpha Phi was racist and didn't take anyone but white girls. We found this out after the fact, and boy were we pissed. We didn't know why another girl from the Caribbean was so hostile towards us, but it made sense once we figured things out. I'm still really pissed about it, to be honest, because I don't know how we would have ever given that impression. Also, we have girls from other different ethnicities, so why would we single out African American or Caribbean girls?

I'm hoping this year we proved our point, because we teamed up with the Caribbean Students Association girls for flag-football and everyone had a blast. Those girls are awesome, and I would love for them to be sisters, but CSA is like a fraternity/sorority in itself, so they probably wouldn't join because they're busy enough. :(

We have a Japanese sister in my chapter. She is absolutely fantastic, and her race has never been an issue with anyone. My campus was wonderfully accepting of minority and international students. It just was never an issue.

There also was a Japanese Alpha Xi when I was in school. A lot of the Asian students did not pledge because of $$ issues. A couple friends told me, "I would rather fly home over break than join a Greek house. Do you know how expensive flights are to Japan?" :)

carnation,

I can't wait for the latest installation of the Carnation's Crew Rush Chronicles. (It's almost like waiting for the next Harry Potter Book!) I wish the summer would hurry up! :D

In the thread about women of color in NPC, I wrote:

Is that more along the lines of what you're looking for?

And really, what does pointing out racist incidents really prove? That some people are racists? DUH! Where does this get us in the long run? How many times does it need to be said that yes, there are some racist people in the world -- before we decide thatwe can either hide under a rock living in fear that we might run into a racist brother or sister, or that we forge ahead and be the best (insert Fraternity name here) we can be -- despite the odds?

For me, I chose the latter.

Sistermadly, that is why I love you so much!

SFSU is a very liberal and tolerant campus. I have never personaly experienced racism within my chapter or the entire Greek community for that matter. I'm sure prejudices exist, but I haven't seen it. I can only speak for myself and it has never been an issue for me.

And I second astroAPhi when I say I love you too Sistermadly! :D

What is Great about GC, is that no one knows anything about color unless you tell them or act out your thoughts.


We have the rainbow of colors, well most here! Aint it Great!!!!!:)

You all help me keep my sanity for what little is left!!!:D