Livid
 

Well all of you Black, Yellow, and White People I am really Pissed!:mad:

I just saw something on Local TV that will be carried on National TV!

Quint, Mi or Al had a Senior class that had a prom that was Segregated by not Officals but by the Students Themselves!:confused:

Whites and Blacks had their Own Seperate Proms? What were they thinking about?

We at GC have been working together to cenent relationships and some dumb damn thing like this comes up!

I am so upset, that I do not know what to say.:(

I do agree this is ridiculous but here is a rather humourous story about the same thing happening 10 years ago. The white and black students held separate proms...in a news interview, one of the students said it was because they couldn't come to an agreement on the music to be played. I said to my mom that all the white guys probably wanted to hear Lynryd Skynyrd. She responded "yes, and the black kids probably wanted to hear M J Hammer. " :D I love when parents try to be hip and don't quite make it....I laughed for half an hour.

Me so apaled! Why cannt we all jus get alone? You cant' see black peeple at nite, nor white peeple in tha snow, Aisains next to beer, nor mixsed peeple by zebbras. Ereone has there fauts.

I agree. Your faults appear to be poor grammar, atrocious spelling, and your head seems to be nicely wedged up your ass.

Dunt be hadin!!!

It kills me.. after all the strides that have been made to achieve a colorblind society that people would CHOOSE to seperate themselves along the lines of race.

I thought that "seperate but equal" was wrong?

Now the kids of the people who put their lives on the line for these issues are choosing what their parents fought so hard against.

Am I preaching to the choir or what?

ROFLMAO!

That was CLASSIC.

Aman my brothir!

That wasent funy!

LMFAO

That right there is one of the reason I love having you as a sister.
I agree though that thats just totally stupid. Im only 22 (23 this year) but when I was in school we didnt have bomb threats, massive school shootings ( I mean we had shootings rarely, and when they did happen you shot the one person you wanted, not everyone. Yes im being non-PC), and now we have segregated proms?? Is there something in the air and water that wasnt there when I was born?

On a more serious note, maybe RacizmSux has a reading and spelling disorder? But I 99.9% doubt it.

ROFLMBAO
 

Girrrrrl, you scared the MESS outta me!
Whew! :p

But perhaps RacismSux was trying to be ironic and point out stereotypes?

Re: ROFLMBAO
 

Don't be SKURRED! :D

If that is the case, I am saddened for her or him as I am for all of us!:o

There have been many Posts about what we as Greeks, Espc. GCers have done in discussing this type of thing.

I am ashamed of what what was done in this day and age! While I am going blind, I have been color blind! I deal with all colors of people in my daily business and there are enuff crazys in all shapes, colors and packages!

You all are one of the most caring group of people I have ever found and count you as Friends.

Unless you tell me you are of a different color, I cannot tell from your signature or nick name and do not care!

You are my Greek Brothers and Sisters!

Well, all I have to say is Goodby! :(

I find the self-segregation disheartening also. I grew up in the most ethnically and racially diverse counties (Queens, NY) in the world so it surprised me when I found self-segregation in college especially in the living arrangements. I heard about separate proms a few years ago. The reason given was different tastes in music. A prom is a celebration of the high school experience and one of the last opportunities to be together before graduation. If they wanted, they could have a mix of music that reflected the tastes of all of the students. It's a sad commentary on our times.

THis sounds to me like something was WRONG at this school. I doubt that the prom is the greatest of their problems!

I can understand to some degree though- when you are a minority in a majority ANYTHING school, more often than not you are just not going to get the things you like, certainly not in music- the majority group will always win because there are more of them. When that happens often enough you get a LOT of resentment and the kids have no desire to even begin to interact with the others, and would rather go do their own thing and be happy.

Also, a lot of proms might not be specifically segregated but I am betting that if you looked at the room you would find that it might as well be- all the black kids on one side, the hispanic kids in their clique, the Asians in their cliques (assorted by nationality of course) and the white kids in a huge group never even noticing that the others are not interacting with them AT ALL.

Some of you really have rose colored glasses on about this world, I swear. ALl these kids did was make it official, and I am POSITIVE that if a lot of schools were even given this option then there would be a lot of other schools doing it too.

I don't think this is a "first". I'm pretty sure I read something about a year or two ago where the same "choices" were made.

amycat-I was thinking the same thing from the very first post.

Ok. Please don't everyone go off on me about this, but I kinda thought it was funny. RacizmSux touched upon almost every "color", and I could see that if he just mentioned one or two, that it'd be offensive. I'm not saying that it's ok to bling bling a statement like that, but it did make me kinda laugh. Other than that, I grew up in a small town (literaly a 4 mile circumfrance [god i know I spelled that wrong?]) and my high school was extremely dominantly white, with a few black or asian students. What is funny about that is that we could never have wanted a separate prom from the lack of ethnicity, but we could never have wanted one due to music cuz that's all we all listened to! R&B, rap, hip hop....these are the types of music the majority of my school listened and danced to! There's definately gota be something else brewing in these high schools that prefer a segregated event.

I am the first to admit that people self-segregate themselves all of the time, whether they realize they are doing it or not. But for the administration, teachers and parents to okay this type of thing is appalling. It is simply saying that, yes, it's okay to just do things differently and not even try to come to a compromise. It's saying that, yes, you're different, and shouldn't have to associate with those other people. :mad:

What should have happened was a meeting with the teachers and administrators that oversee prom arrangements and a sampling of the students- an equal number of every ethnicity represented. The students could have all said what they wanted, representing of course "their" side of things, and surely the music played could have been varied, the kids could have decided on a theme together, etc. What kind of leadership exists at this school anyway? :confused:

And what happens if it's segregated between black and white, but I'm Asian or Hispanic or Phillipino....? Or what if, as unusual as it still is in many places, my date is black but I'm white? :(

Just because something happens all of the time doesn't mean it's okay. If we're not striving to improve our society, then what are we doing?

I always found it intersting, that I had a customer who would bring in his Freinds and tell them when I was introduced, you have to love this man, he is not racially prejeicied! He dont like nobody!

He would have a big grin on his face when he said it!:)

I took that as one hell of a compliment!

If we cannot make fun of ourselves, what can we make fun of!:confused:

This crap is going on to long so let us put a stop to it!:)

All I know is that the only N, Black, or African American in my school spent as much time in my room at the dorm as his! He was always welcome in my small abode! We were freinds!

Well this aught to stir some stuff up! No disrespect to my many freinds on GC Site!

We had no say in music, it was up to the DJ. :( Anyway, my school was pretty well mixed. At least who I hung out with. People of all races. :)

I don't know that we have enough details on this case to make these judgements.

I am positive that the administration tried SOMEHOW to resolve this- no sane people would let this happen without fighting. I am surprised that the minority kids got the funds to make their seperate prom too, but we don't know where they got it. Maybe they raised it themselves, maybe it came from parents, who knows? As a matter of fact, if this was a public school then the school could not legally give them ANY funds to do something like this if it was in fact de jure segregation.

I am sure that it was not a strictly racial thing- there were just two proms and it just so happened that at one of the proms most of the kids were white and at the other most were black. Oops!:rolleyes:

I think so too.

Oh come on! My spelling and grammar is not that bad! :eek:

Briget, welcome to my world!:D

I go from being the Pres. Elect of the USA to the Typo King!

Well, I admit to being the Typo King of the WORLD!:D

Heck, whom in their Right Mind wants to be Pres!?:confused:

I want to be KING! Its GOOD TO BE THE KING!:cool: :D

LOL
 

I guess you're trying to lighten up the convo. But, you must be a struggling, starving, comedianne :p
On another note, I guess I'm just glad that everyone's so "outraged" over this. This incident is definitely newsworthy...but even this newsworthy "outrage" won't change the hearts of most.

Chaos, Yes I am trying, as my departed Mother said yes son you are very trying!

It is so sad that so many people have tried so hard to get it right!

And the Problerm is that there are that many who want to tear it Down! What a Shame!:(

We on this site are the Best of The Best, Black, Red,, Yellow or Whatever color! Some have better tans than others, Gawd no's I have to work on mine! :D

Welcome and good to hear from you!;)

About two years ago I was watching a talk show, Montel Williams I believe, and they highlighted a school where the tradition was to have two separate homecoming dances and crown two homecoming queens, one black, one white. There were two separate ballots and everything. This was started because before this a black student was never elected homecoming queen.Maybe this is something similar.

Re: Livid
 

Is there a written story about the prom? I can't believe a school district would hold 2 separate proms. When there is a case of separate proms, the school pays for the one that is attended by white students and the African Americans hold their own separate party which is financed by them. They can attend the official prom but choose to go to their own.

Self segregation is very apparent. If you remember in high school cafeteria, the white kids had their table, the black kids had their table, the hispanic kids had their table, etc.

Look at the churches. 11AM on a Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week. You have black churches and white churches and then there is a sprinkling of a mixed church. So for those you do not think it still happens, you must not be aware of your surroundings.

Two examples

2002 story
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/html/...86F51CE5.shtml
Jackson points to her prom at Mansfield High School as an example. She was prom queen her senior year. That prom was the first attempt in recent history to merge the black and white proms into one. Other years, they were held on separate nights.



1994
http://www.holysmoke.org/fem/fem0380.htm
For example, last spring a private high school in Chicago had two
proms -- one mainly attended by white students and the other mainly
attended by black students. The controversy arose when the
all-white prom committee was choosing songs. Each student could
vote for three songs, and the songs with the most votes would be
played at the prom. It turned out that many of the black student's
songs were not chosen.

The black students felt shut out by the decision-making process
based on majority rule. Guinier quoted one student as saying: "With
us being in the minority, we're always out-voted. It's as if we
don't count."

White students were hurt that their black peers were holding a
separate prom. They thought the black students were not playing by
the rules, namely the supposedly fair majority rule, Guinier said.

An alternative to the situation would be to give each student 10
votes to place on how ever many songs, reflecting the intensity of
their preferences. In this way, the black students could pool their
votes to hear some of their songs at the prom. So even if the
majority's favorite songs were played more often, the "songs that
the minority enjoyed would also show up on the roster."

Re: Re: Livid
 

Cultural similarities bring people together. However, there are whites who enjoy worshipping in Black churches and vice versa. Similarly, there are blacks students who find that they have more in common with the white students and sit with them in the cafeteria.
People flock towards those who look most like them and share similar interests. There are brave souls who go outside of their own comfort level, defy their own friends, to befriend and interact with those of another race.
To specifially look at these instances of segregation (the prom, church, etc.) overlooks WHY these instances come about. People claim to be appalled, but in our own little ways, we perpetuate this. Forced integration is only a bandaid for the problem, there is no cure. But, these kids learned from the adults in America. So, let's not be surprised that the next generation has already learned about America's problem with race and how to keep the problem going.

Re: Livid
 

This is disheartening. Where were the adults in this? What roles did they play? Where was the conflict resolution?

I'm wondering that too, tickledpink. I'd also like to know if black students could attend the white prom and vice versa. Could a couple go to both proms? If not, why not? Are they held at the same time?

The issue of racial separation came up on my campus last semester when the student newspaper ran an article about the lack of minorities in white GLOs. The writer of the article didn't seem to understand why black students didn't want to join white GLOs. A member of a BGLO wrote a guest column the next day that basically said, "hey, sometimes people want to hang out with people who are like them - especially in a state like Kansas where there are hardly any people like them." (You can read the original article here and the column right here.)

People shouldn't be barred from activities based on their race. But if they choose not to participate, we should dig a little deeper before accusing anybody of racism.

"People shouldn't be barred from activities based on their race. But if they choose not to participate, we should dig a little deeper before accusing anybody of racism". [/B][/QUOTE]


I agree with that statement above. That's why I wanted to read an article about the separate proms to understand the reasons before reaching a conclusion.

Snuggles #7
DST
12/93 - RVA

RockChalk - Thanks for posting the links to the two articles that you mentioned. They gave two interesting perspective on the issue of diversity in GLO's. I think that it is a good thing that people are concerned about racial diversity and how to make all people feel welcome in the greek system.

I distinctly remember a freshman Greek meet-and-greet forum where the University was described as having "7 wonderful sororities...and 2 historically Black ones." This was a disheartening first impression of the University for many of us (minority and white students included). The distinction between the "regular" sororities and the "other" sororites was made and the line was drawn. Most of us knew what organizations we wished to affiliate ourselves with, so it didn't affect our impressions of the organizations.
What SHOULD they have said? "7 wonderful sororities, INCLUDING 2 historically Black ones." Like I said before, in our little ways, we perpetuate the color line. It may not be so blatant as having separate proms, but the effects are just as lasting.

That is the one of the rudest things I have ever heard!! Proper form: "We have 9 wonderful sororities. Two are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and seven are members of the National Panhellenic Conference." And that is ALL the distinction that needs to be made. PERIOD.

very true.

I so agree with you on that one. To respond to the post about the news article, I feel that joining a NPHC sorority vs. a NPC sorority is different than attending a racially segregated prom. My highschool was so racially mixed and eclectic that we all would have wanted to hear Lynard Sknyrd, Ozzy Ozborne and MJ/MC Hammer in a P. Diddy remix featuring Ja Rule and J. Lo! A separte prom would have been unthinkable. Half of my friends would have not been there with me! Something like this is news to me indeed. Someone said that maybe the division was based on music tastes, if that is true, then could I go to the "white" prom if I wanted to dance to N'Sync and Britney Spears? Could my white friends attend the "black" prom if they wanted to dance to JayZ? If this is the case then I couldn't call it a racially divided prom. I still don't know the details of this story, just what I have read on here. It doesn't sound like a music division to me. Every semester all of the Greeks on my campus have a callaborative "Greek Party" and we spend a bit of time on techno, hip hop, salsa, etc. We cover it all. When I go to clubs I bounce from the hip hop, techno, 80's, 90's rooms all in no time. There is enough time in a prom to cover it all and make it sound good. I doubt it was a music issue. If it was that simple I would be surprised that it was taken this far.

Re: Re: Re: Livid
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ChaosDST
[B]Cultural similarities bring people together. However, there are whites who enjoy worshipping in Black churches and vice versa. Similarly, there are blacks students who find that they have more in common with the white students and sit with them in the cafeteria.
People flock towards those who look most like them and share similar interests. There are brave souls who go outside of their own comfort level, defy their own friends, to befriend and interact with those of another race.
To specifially look at these instances of segregation (the prom, church, etc.) overlooks WHY these instances come about. People claim to be appalled, but in our own little ways, we perpetuate this. Forced integration is only a bandaid for the problem, there is no cure. But, these kids learned from the adults in America. So, let's not be surprised that the next generation has already learned about America's problem with race and how to keep the problem going.



Amen ChaosDST!!!

Good stuff!

That is possibly what happened. Although a "majority rules system" is completely fair, in the case of a prom, it might be seen as unfair to some.

For example, a prom, especially the senior prom, is a very big event (maybe the biggest) in teen life. And you spend a whole heck of a lot of time and money to get it just right. It is also possibly, the last time you will see the faces of the people from whom you never though you would ever be separated.

With such high hopes and $$$, wouldn't anyone want it be as enjoyable as possible? Now, if you are one who enjoys ALL types of music, then two proms are pointless. But, not everyone-- possibly a majority of people, are not like that. So, what's the point of spending all of this money for this big night if you are going to be sitting down bored for two-thirds of the night?

I do not support a "two-prom system" but I can see why it may have evolved.
Fr example, if you have an 80% Caucasian population and 50% of the songs played do not appeal to them, then the majority of the crowd will be sitting during the night so that you can appease the minority. Now, I don't know any DJ that likes to play music for hours for a sitting crowd.
It is impossible to please everyone, and who should sacrifice? And just how much?

Music may seem to be a trivial point, but music that you love and can sing along to goes a long way towards setting the mood for an enjoyable and memorable evening.