Advice for blacks considering NOT joining a BGLO
 

This is a warning for brothers and sisters doing research on joining a GLO. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE OF GLO's!

Before pledging my house, I looked deeply into the 9 and into the house I was interested in. I did several weeks of research into the WGLO and saw that nationally, it had many black members. In the end, it was a difficult decision so I decided to give the GLO a try, thinking that I would just depledge if it wasnt for me. I should have known better.

During rush everyone told me the whole bullcrap about how they "strive for diversity" or how "we treat brothers all the same". However this is not the case.

How can an organization treat everyone the same when it was created in a society that subconconsciously teaches us to place a value on someone because of the color of their skin?

I thought that alumni support as well as life commitment were important in joining a fraternity. "We have the greatest Alumni support", said the rush chair, "We also believe that members of this fraternity are members for life, not just up until you graduate".

These of course were lies too. The local chapter had TERRIBLE alumni support (so much that nationals recently had to step in) and many of the current members intend on doing NOTHING for the group after graduation.

During pledgeship, many people were "supportive" of my decision not to join a BGLO. It must have been so that I could give them rent money for the next year.

I am treated differently. Not blatently, but in little noticeable ways that most people who werent in my situation would not notice.

I feel like an "asset" (as in diversity percentile) more then I feel like a respected brother. People who hid their ignorant views came out in full force AFTER initiation.

Yes I sound like a whiney brat who was impatient but I tell you, that is not the case. I did LOTS of research into this and I thought I made the most educated decision. However, I didnt use common sense. Its a well known fact that white fraternities LIE during the rush process in order attract NUMBERS rather then brothers.

BGLO's may not be upfront about their entire "process" to non-members, but they certainly wont ever lie to you what they're about and what their purpose is.

The house is also becoming increasingly superficial. Diversity? After my pledge class was initiated, they decided they wanted to become more popular by only admitting cookie cutter, preppy, fratboys. I hardly fit into this group. When I come back in 5 years, what am I going to look forward to? I doubt that I'll see people like me.

Dont get me wrong, I love some of the gusy in the house, but overall, this bond was not for me.

Unfortunately, there's no way out because I too believe that a bond is for life.

If I had two wishes though...

Why am I writing this annoying post? In case some naieve freshmen are going through rush and wanted to know the experience of someone who had a similar situation.

It sounds like you had a poor experience on the campus where you pledged. I truly believe that is the exception, not the rule and it is wrong of you to try and sour the opinions of others.

Every chapter of every fraternity is different from the same chapter on another campus - making a blanket statement that minority members aren't really welcome in a predominately white fraternity is oversimplifies the matter to an extreme.

In addition, most of us find the term WGLO offensive as all NPC and NIC member organizations have diverse memberships. True, the membership rolls may not be as diverse on some campuses as on others, but remember, a chapter cannot ask someone to join, if that potential member has not expressed an interest in that chapter. If more minority men and women showed more interest in what you call 'white' GLOs, you would see more diversity.

A person joins a group where they feel most comfortable, regardless of the skin color of the members. There are several white men and women that strongly believe in the principles of the Divine Nine organizations - if one of these members had a bad experience and posted a message similar to yours, the BGLO members would probably feel the same as I do. If you believe in an organizations mission, ideals and goals, that's what matters most to the existing members.


Barbara
Rush Forum Moderator

I am sorry you had a bad experience, but don't push it on every other minority who may be seeking membership in an NPC or NIC organization. Just from what you "said", it seems you were going into this with a less than positive attitude:"I figured I could just depledge"...Well, this sounds as if your whole heart wasn't in it. I have had an excellent experience. I am a national officer and president of my alum chapter. These were not given to me because I am a "token", its because I KICK ASS! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/cool.gif

Barbara, quite nicely put. I have to agree. I am sorry that you had a bad experience, it's truely a tragedy, in my eyes, that you were 'tricked', so to say, into believing that your chapter of your fraternity stood for something you believed in. However, you can not sum up the entire 'white'GLO (as you call them) experience by what your one chapter did. You are one person, with one experience. Surely you don't believe that ALL GLO's are this way.

"During rush everyone told me the whole bullcrap about how they "strive for diversity" or how "we treat brothers all the same". However this is not the case."

This is the case for most GLO's. Again, you had one experience. You can not speak for every member of all GLO's with this statement


"How can an organization treat everyone the same when it was created in a society that subconconsciously teaches us to place a value on someone because of the color of their skin?"

Weren't BGLO's created to uplift the Black Community? I have nothing against BGLO's OR their cause, but you can't say that they weren't created to place value on a group of people with one skin color. Besides that, many GLO's today are almost, if not 100 years old or more. Things change. GLO's today do not share the same mentality or belief system as their founders on EVERYTHING.

"I thought that alumni support as well as life commitment were important in joining a fraternity. "We have the greatest Alumni support", said the rush chair, "We also believe that members of this fraternity are members for life, not just up until you graduate."

Sometimes alumni don't contribute to their chapter after graduation. I, for instance, live 8 hrs. from my chapter. I have a job, a fiance, a house, a different life. That doesn't mean that I don't support my organizations, it just means I'm not active in my original chapter. Most (if not all) national GLO's DO consider you a member for life, even if you don't participate in anything after graduation--or initiation for that matter.

"BGLO's may not be upfront about their entire "process" to non-members, but they certainly wont ever lie to you what they're about and what their purpose is."

I'm not saying they do, but how would you know if you've never been through the BGLO experience.

"Why am I writing this annoying post? In case some naieve freshmen are going through rush and wanted to know the experience of someone who had a similar situation."

It's good to let people know your situation. It's a learning expeirence not only for you, but for many of us. My only advice would be to step back are read what you wrote. You seem to sum up all "white" GLO's with your single experience. Your one experience can't speak for every person's experience. What you just said might also turn someone away from the greek system entirely, then they would be missing out on a chance of a lifetime. I'm sure there are many people out there that joined GLO's of a different ethnic background that are perfectly happy with what they chose. Don't try to speak for them all.

i'm not really susprised that you had the experience that you did, BUT i'm sure some minorities will not have the bad experience that you had, some will have a great experience, it ALWAYS varies from campus to campus, now nationally i think thats another story, perhaps you should have looked at various chapters in your area to see if they were also supportive of you as a minority or if your chapter was just more liberal or had a certain agenda in that area, you won't be in undergrad forever so its important to know that regardless of where you came in or your race that you are accepted nationally that would have been a key prerequisite for me in considering that organization.
anyway please everyone pledge whatever organization you feel most connected to. i could not see myself in any other organization of that i had no doubts.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by tragic2k:
This is a warning for brothers and sisters doing research on joining a GLO. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE OF GLO's!

OK, what "hype" are you referring to? the only hype i know of is what a prospective creates based on what he/she sees in an organization.

Before pledging my house, I looked deeply into the 9 and into the house I was interested in. I did several weeks of research into the WGLO and saw that nationally, it had many black members. In the end, it was a difficult decision so I decided to give the GLO a try, thinking that I would just depledge if it wasnt for me. I should have known better.

IMO, you could not have looked that deeply into the 5 NPHC fraternities and the NIC house you were interested in if you now find so much with which to be disappointed. As you now know, researching an organization is much more than what it's doing nationally. Yes, that's a big part but your first impression is the chapter on your campus. You may ADORE the organization's goals, but LOATHE the members on that campus. SO what does one do? Join on the alumni level if that option is available, wait until there's a better group of guys in the chapter, or join anyway and make the best of it.


How can an organization treat everyone the same when it was created in a society that subconconsciously teaches us to place a value on someone because of the color of their skin?

I hate to break this to you, but the NPHC organizations were founded in the very same society of which you speak. Part of what we did was unite to fight against the blatant injustices of the past and now we unite to battle the subtle ones of the present.

I thought that alumni support as well as life commitment were important in joining a fraternity. "We have the greatest Alumni support", said the rush chair, "We also believe that members of this fraternity are members for life, not just up until you graduate".

Another news flash: although undergraduate NPHC chapters have an alumni chapter or two nearby, they are, for the most part, self-sufficient. We don't have alumni funneling money into our chapters, this is not to say that all NPC and NIC chapters do. We raise all of the funds we use to operate ourselves through dues, step show winnings, and other fund raisers. Don't be confused though, we are not "wallowing" in cash. Most of the money we raise goes back into the chapter to fund our service projects.

These of course were lies too. The local chapter had TERRIBLE alumni support (so much that nationals recently had to step in) and many of the current members intend on doing NOTHING for the group after graduation.

This is probably something you could have found out during your research.

I am treated differently. Not blatently, but in little noticeable ways that most people who werent in my situation would not notice.

http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif Unfortunately, the world is like that. It's not limited to just your house.


BGLO's may not be upfront about their entire "process" to non-members, but they certainly wont ever lie to you what they're about and what their purpose is.

Valid point. Most likely, we won't tell you ANYTHING about the process other than when the rush/smoker is, maybe not even that. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif But we will tell you what we're about.


All in all, I am terribly sorry your greek experience has not been a good one so far. But to come on a message board and discourage minorities from joining an NPC or NIC organization is not cool. Whether you like your house or not, you're greek, you're in the ssystem. By your own admission, you don't plan to leave. I do appreciate you taking the time to post your experience. Although it could have been more positive, it speaks volumes to the importance of choosing your organization carefully, regardless of the demographic.

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Kelli
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
12-Delta Nu-94
MAL, Southern Region
Savannah State University c/o 1997

I am very sorry about your experiences and wished that your situation and those of others in your shoes did not happen, but just as PositivelyAKA, I am not surprised.

There have been a few instances on my campus where people joined NPC/NIC organizations, depledged and then sought out membership in the Divine 9--for the same exact reasons..... one girl was even told by one of the orgs that there were no black sororities on campus (mind you we have all 4!) so if she wanted to go greek she would have to rush.....

PLEASE PLEASE make sure you know what you are getting into before you make life altering decisions like choosing a fraternity/sorority to join, WHATEVER IT IS!!!!

**Being naive or uninformed is not an excuse.

All "WGLO's" cannot be viewed as one organization, and I feel that some people are doing that here. I know that I chose my org., because it was unique and because it stood for what I believed in and wanted to strive towards. Not all NPC or IFC orgs. are the same and they cannot be grouped as one. How mad would those members of NPHC orgs. be if they were grouped all as one. I know so many members of all GLO's and BGLO's who pride themselves on their letters not on the NPHC or IFC or NPC crest, as important as that might be to them.


Much Love,

Kymberleigh
Delta Epsilon
Delta Delta Delta

Well, I can't say I agree with your stand in generalizing "white" vs. "black" GLO's. I know that my chapter had white, black, asian, and latino members. The African-American women who joined were treated differently, not by us, but by her friends who pledged BGLO's.

I don't think this is necessarily the norm, nor do I imagine it's an isolated incident. I advise anyone going through rush to be conscious of what they are doing and be sure to do your research.

It's really sad that a belief for the need of seperation exists. It is also sad that you expirenced such a negative enviroment in a GLO. But perhaps you were bringing negative expectations with you. You also can still change the outcome of your organization as well as your expirences. Bring a positive aura and remember they did choose you so they liked something about you.

Tragic2K,

Your decision to join something outside of yourself and your chosen identity has been your undoing...

Just because you've gone thru this GLO's process, you cannot even begin to be considered for membership into ANY mainstream BGLO or any black professional greek-lettered organizations such as, Sigma Pi Phi Boule or Links. The reason is because the age of the members will not understand you choice you made during your college years. And you cannot "depledge" because you think you've made a mistake...

It's sad to say, but once you sellout, you are asked to get the hell out...

So, you're saying that I couldn't be a Link, even though it's not a Greek-lettered organization? I thought the membership criteria for that group was completely different from those of BGLO's, because it's a professional/service group. Is this in their bylaws, or is it unspoken?

tragic2k, you can only speak for yourself. I am very happy with my chosen group, and I feel very strongly that I am connected to my heritage. Unlike what many of you think, it is possible.

Tragic thats a very tragic story. But it holds true, to thine ownself be true. Never sleep on the fact, that the nine started for a reason and to this day are truly devoted to promoting sisterhood and brotherhood. AKA Monet said it best. When you sell out you get the hell out.

I love my DST!
OOOOO-OOOP

I'm with you AlphaChiGirl. I think Tragic2K is out of line dispelling ALL GLO's as being bad for minorities. True, you should look more in depth into something so serious as greek life but it is in poor taste to generalize ALL GLO's in ALL greek systems at ALL campuses. I happen to be a minority, close to my community and active in my fraternity.

And as for you AKAMonet, I've responded to one of your posts before. I wont go into the severe issues that you seem to have but I will say that your "those is who sell out/get the hell out" bit is not only inappropriate, but a little overdone. If you truly cared about our people, it wouldnt matter what GLO they joined as long as they had the same values and purposes to uplift the community.

Your negativeness truly makes me wonder whether or not you are even human.

Well that is why I love my AKA!!
I am not even sure what would motivate brothers or sisters to go the WGLO way.
During my Freshman year at a redneck school in Texas (TAMU) my roommate was "rushing"
Delta Zeta. All they ever did was drink and party.
I knew that the BGLO tradition of community service was for me

It is just so amazing to me
WGLO's even let people outside of their brotherhood / sisterhood sport their letters...

AKA Pink and Green the Prettiest colors I have ever seen!!
SKEE-WEEE!!!!!!!!

You know, I am usually silent on these types of topics. But your IGNORANT, RIDICULOUS comments made me write.

If you have even read any of the posts that the "WGLO" members have written on similar topics, you would know that people outside of the sisterhood are NOT allowed to wear letters!!! NO ONE is allowed to wear them on a shirt. The only exception is on a "greek" t-shirt where all of the orgs, including the BGLO's, have their organization represented by their letters.

You chose, on your own, to go to that "redneck" school. No one forced you to go there. Maybe that one sorority at your backward university did not care about community service and sisterhood, but that does not represent every GLO. It is ignorance that would make you think that. At my school, we did tons of service and spent countless hours helping other people. Of course we had fun, but "drink and party" does not describe ALL that we did. Puh-leez.

You call other people your "brothers and sisters" but that criticize them for the personal decisions that they make. That is not very fraternal or loving of you in ANY WAY.

Don't try to downplay other people because of your own insecurities.

Please think when you make a blanket statement. Your comments focus more on what type of person YOU are, than how you percieve the GLO's at your school.

I'm not sure what posts you're reading, but I've read SEVERAL posts on this board accounting to people wearing other organizations letters (ie "dropping," lavaliering, pinning, shirting). I DISTINCTLY remember one post that mentioned one of the MALE cast members of Real World 9 was wearing a SORORITY LETTERED T-SHIRT while he played basketball. The reason for this was it was "just for fun". HUH??? Cash78mere, while it may not be common for YOUR organization to allow others to wear letters, we (non-NPC,non-NIC members) have read on this very board that IT DOES HAPPEN. Just like you are not inclined to know the inner workings of the NPHC, we are not inclined to know the inner workings of the NPC or the NIC, THEREFORE the only thing we have to go by is what we see or read. SO, cash78mere, before you go off on someone & tell them to read the message boards, be sure YOU read them YOURSELF to make sure you have your facts straight.

Don't you EVER question the Brother & Sisterhood that members of the NPHC have INTER and INTRA-ORGANIZATIONALLY. If you're not IN IT, you WON'T UNDERSTAND.

peace out!

I find it very ironic that you would call my soror's post "inappropriate" and then turn right around and disrespect her by making such an asinine statement as "Your negativeness truly makes me wonder whether or not you are even human." Is that not inappropriate??? I, for one, didn't appreciate it, and I'm sure my soror didn't appreciate it either. Please do not think that because you are a minority, you have the right to question our purposes and values in the community, or to even align them with your own. Yes, we all work to uplift the community, but I'm willing to bet that there's not a WGLO (and I use that term with no disrespect, it is not based on your current membership but the history of your orgs.) whose purpose aligns itself with that of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, INC. Or any other BGLO for that matter, however, I can only speak for AKA.

That being said, could you please tell me the amount of time that your GLO (not just xp2k, anyone can respond) spends in the African-American community? Since it doesn't "matter what GLO they joined as long as they had the same values and purposes to uplift the community."

Well said Kelli!! Well said!

Personally, we spend as much time in the African-American community as we do working in any other community - whether it be white, hispanic, homeless or the generally impoverished. Yeah, my fraternity does its share of partying and such, but we take philanthropic work extremely seriously - it's one of our ideals as a national, as well as our duty as human beings. I also know this is the hallmark of the traditionally BGLOs, which is impressive on the whole.

Also Ideal - good point about name-calling or whatever, it's never good to see a thread deteriorate into "you're this b/c you called me that" type discussions - and i'm out.

Ok, this post is basically dividing BGLO's and GLO's more than they already are divided.

First of all, I think we are all smart enough to know that making assumptions on any organization based on seeing one chapter is not the way to go.

I don't doubt that there ARE organziations out there that 'drink and party' and that's it. I know that it happens, but it's NOT what any of our organizations were founded to do, or are present to do. It's sad that this happens, that the ideals get lost somewhere along the way. But it's not just GLO's that do this.

As far as letters go. I can wear my letters (DZ or SAI), but they are NOT SUPPOSED to be worn by anyone else OTHER than members. There's about a billion people in the US alone, you can't police everyone. People get ahold of lettered shirt, they wear them when they aren't supposed to--it happens, and I believe it happens to BGLO's too, don't you call these people posers? If I see someone wearing my letters that isn't supposed to be wearing them--I will say something, but I'm not going to beat them down for it. I wanted to bring up dropping, lavaliering, pinning, and shirting. These are all things that have to do with a romantic relationship. GLO's allow you to 'pin' or 'lavalier' your significant other or fiance if there is an 'obvious' intent to marry. Other than that--it's not allowed. Once a TKE friend of mine put his hat on my head as a joke to one of his brothers. He wanted his brother (whom he had not seen in a long time--he was actually an alumni) to think that he had 'settled down' (which is totally not his style). The guy actually thought we were getting married. It was a joke, for fun, there wasn't anything wrong with that--but I would never walk around sporting a TKE sweatshirt on my own. There's a difference. Just so you know, it's NOT common and it's NOT something that is supposed to be done.

Basically, to sum up, there's no reason to be attacking each other here. I was offended by the generalization of my own sorority along with all other GLO's by loviest95, it wasn't fair, and she doesn't have any other chapter to refrence. I'm not going to attack her for her statement though, and I don't think anyone else should either.

GLO's and BGLO's share a common goal--servicing the community. We might not be entirly the same, but maybe instead of fighting each other, we should work together? Why tear each other down, when we are supposed to be expending our energies into the community. I personally think it's sad.

Originally posted by mgdzkm433:
As far as letters go. I can wear my letters (DZ or SAI), but they are NOT SUPPOSED to be worn by anyone else OTHER than members. There's about a billion people in the US alone, you can't police everyone. People get ahold of lettered shirt, they wear them when they aren't supposed to--it happens, and I believe it happens to BGLO's too, don't you call these people posers? If I see someone wearing my letters that isn't supposed to be wearing them--I will say something, but I'm not going to beat them down for it.

***That is a generalization right there. Unless I mis-read your post, it sounds like you are saying members of BGLO's will "beat down" perps. That's one heck of a generalization. But I'm guessing that you are basing that on what you've read here on GC, just like my soror, lovliest95, based her generalization on the only chapters she has to reference. Both are generalizations.***

I wanted to bring up dropping, lavaliering, pinning, and shirting. These are all things that have to do with a romantic relationship. GLO's allow you to 'pin' or 'lavalier' your significant other or fiance if there is an 'obvious' intent to marry. Other than that--it's not allowed. Once a TKE friend of mine put his hat on my head as a joke to one of his brothers. He wanted his brother (whom he had not seen in a long time--he was actually an alumni) to think that he had 'settled down' (which is totally not his style). The guy actually thought we were getting married. It was a joke, for fun, there wasn't anything wrong with that--but I would never walk around sporting a TKE sweatshirt on my own. There's a difference. Just so you know, it's NOT common and it's NOT something that is supposed to be done.

***I don't care if I have a significant other, engaged, or married, I would not GIVE my letters to ANYONE!!! It is NOT fun, it is a SERIOUS MATTER. There's not a difference in my eyes. Wearing letters that are not your own, is wearing letters that are not your own, regardless of the reasoning behind it. LOL, I'm picturing a girl with a KAPsi, APhiA, IPhiT, PBS, or QPsiPhi pin on. LMAO!!! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif It ain't happenin'.***


[This message has been edited by Ideal08 (edited February 13, 2001).]

I would never, ever in my wildest dreams expect that a member of an NPHC fraternity would pin/lavalier his intended/serious girlfriend. At the same time, I cannot imagine that an IFC fraternity man who loves his brotherhood would not pin/lavalier his intended/serious girlfriend.

This is interesting to me - two diametrically opposing traditions, and they both embody the love of one's fraternity, as well as love for one's soulmate.

These differences in tradition, as divergent as they may be, both speak volumes of how much a man loves and respects his letters - but more importantly, how much his lady loves and respects him.

You know a lady loves her man when she wouldn't dream of touching anything with the letters he loves. You know a lady loves her man when she proudly bears the letters he loves. In either case, it conveys utmost love and respect.

------------------

@-->---
Pure as Silver, and True Blue!
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies



[This message has been edited by equeen (edited February 13, 2001).]

I think it maybe comes from GLO's, to them letters are what one puts on a shirt, where as a lavarire, or pin, is a laveraire or pin, with the letters on it. Not HIS letters specificly. And I guess BGLO's see that anything with letters are the same. Different tradtions I geuss. LIke what equeen was talking about.

------------------
Once in every lifetime, you'll know what life is. Oh I need you, you need me, oh my darling, don't you see? The Young Ones. Darling we're The Young Ones. The Young Ones. Shouldn't be afraid! To live. To love. There's a song to be sung. 'Cause we may not be The Young Ones for very long!!!

It is so funny that my experience are being questioned..
I will say this and leave you to your own opinions

My organization has a history of acceptance
and the reason it was founded was because MOST (not all) WGLO's would not have taken my grandmother or my greatgrandmother

Can any of you deny that?

I still would love to know why anyone would want to be a part of something your grandparents were too dark for

Explain that to me

[This message has been edited by loviest95 (edited February 13, 2001).]

SO, cash78mere, before you go off on someone & tell them to read the message boards, be sure YOU read them YOURSELF to make sure you have your facts straight.

Don't you EVER question the Brother & Sisterhood that members of the NPHC have INTER and INTRA-ORGANIZATIONALLY. If you're not IN IT, you WON'T UNDERSTAND.
[/B][/QUOTE]


haha.....idle threats don't work with me dear. Saying "Don't you ever" just makes me laugh my head off. I will question whatever I WANT to question. I would never stop you from questioning me or my organization, but that doesn't mean I will agree with it. SO don't try to stop me.

I have read EVERY thread on every board. I know what goes on. My facts are as straight as can be. And I KNOW that some GLO MEMBERS, not the organizations themselves, will let another person wear their shirt. This is an individual choice, not something that is allowed by the organization. The ONLY time I ever let someone wear a letter shirt of mine was when the temperature dropped suddenly. My friend had a short sleeved shirt on and it began to rain. The temperature had dropped over 30 degrees and she was freezing and she had nothing she could put on. I happened to have a sweatshirt in my bag that I was giving to my little, so I gave it to my friend to wear. She was extremely greatful. So...my point.....yes, she was a member of another organization. But, my letters do not mean more to me that my friend's health. If I had not given her a shirt, I'm sure she would have gotten sick. The 'good deed' that I did exceeds ANY ridiculous pride that I might have about other people wearing letters. And if anyone quesioned me on my choice, I would question their morals. I would also question the value they put on their friendships.

Loviest questioned the workings of the GLO's. So I have every right to question her. I'm not making blanket statements about BGLO's and then exclaiming "That's why I love my AXO!"

I have no desire to understand the workings of the NPHC. I care about my own group, period. That doesn't mean I won't support the NPHC, but I sure don't agree with "beat downs" because someone is wearing my letters, or not letting a friend borrow my umbrella because it has my letters on it. The examples I stated above are examples that many (but maybe not all) BGLO members are proud of doing. And yes, I read that on these boards.

Lavaliers do not count as wearing letters. It is jewelry that is given as a symbol of love. It is not a person 'giving' their letters away.

To the person asking how we can be members of an organization that would not have accepted them 100 years ago. Well, what can I do about that? Times change, and so do people. If that was true today, no, I could not be a member. But GLO's accept members of ANY race. We do not discriminate. (There may be exceptions to this rule with individual chapters, but they will obviously be shut down if they are discovered. We have seen that happen. No one agrees with their policies)

To the person who asked about supporting black neighborhoods with our community service. Let me ask you----are you supporting poor white communities? I doubt it. Are they not as deserving? They are people after all. GLO's do not chose the color of the people that they help. We help anyone and everyone. When I volunteer at a women's shelter, I don't care if I am helping a black woman or a white woman......I am helpng a WOMAN. Period.

I am secure in myself and my GLO. We are positive, supportive groups who will help anyone in need. And I am extremely proud of that.

Not all people "illegally" wearing our letters are perps. Some honestly don't know better. They are handled one way. The ones who actually claim to be members of the organization are the perps, and you don't have to be wearing letters to perp. They are dealt with in another. As for this dropping thing, it still boils down to wearing letters that are not yours, regardless of if they're on a pin, hanging from a chain or on a shirt and regardless if they were "given" to you by some dude who thinks he loves you. If he loved you that much, he's buy an engagement ring or some other piece of jewlery to signify that love. The only reason anyone should be wearing letters is if they were duly initiated into the organization that uses them.

As far as this post causing further division, I disagree. The ORIGINAL message is a valid one for the minority community. True, it could have been handled a little differently, but the message is there and I'm sure it's been received loud and clear.


[This message has been edited by 12dn94dst (edited February 13, 2001).]

I agree with this 110% -- we help anyone in need -- and no it has never mattered to me what color skin the women and children at shelters have -- usually their skin is black and blue from being beaten. And what are we on here doing? BEATING each other because we are comparing APPLES AND ORANGES!

Apples = BGLO standards of never letting another person wear their letters....Oranges = WGLO standards of frat brothers showing their love for a woman by pinning or lavelering her. APPLES AND ORANGES, PEOPLE! And contrary to the quite popular belief on here - NEITHER IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER. Its about da%& time that we ALL came to realize that.

We are here to learn from each other -- and as the dead horse lying there stinking with flies around it has already shown, we will never be able to discuss race issues on here with any type of positive outcome. All we do is continually draw those same lines over and over and DARE each other to cross them with our words.

We will never understand the workings of each other's orgs because we will never be in them -- so why say "don't EVER say" anything when none of us can "EVER" say and be 100% correct on any org other than our own?!

And I will just go ahead and throw this in since it seems to be 100% perfectly acceptable to label one group but not another -- calling someone a "Redneck" is just as derrogatory as calling someone else an innappropriate slur. Here is a little quote from the book "The Ballad of Frankie Silver" by Sharyn McCrumb: "Political correctness [does] not require tolerance or courtesy to white Southerners." I think that quote speaks volumes about how people speak negatively of one group everyday out in public with no thought as to what they are saying, yet have a freaking cow if someone were to use such a slur towards another group.

Racism is not a one-way street --- it is never right to hate/treat differently/show a lack of respect/call names/etc. regardless of what color skin a person has. NEVER NEVER NEVER - because if you say its not okay for one person to do it to you, then it sure the hell shouldn't be okay for you to do it to another person. Don't make excuses for yourself -- be yourself -- let other people see you for what you are and for who you are -- we are only responsible for how we personally act towards others. We sure aren't here to do the judging!!!

cash78mere,

I did not make a blanket statement.. I posted MY personal experinces

I do not take offense to what you say because
in the long run
We come from 2 different places

I want you to understand that being proud of my organization does not mean that I do not expect that you would not be proud of yours

Make no mistake I work hard for the community at large but I work very hard for MY Community

It's just like neighborhood clean up
you must start with your own

Ivy in my Hand-- AKA in my HEART!!
Skee-wee!!!!!!!!

The comment is well taken
However they considered themselves rednecks

The signs on the dorm room doors stated

Pro
WHITE
MALE
hetero

REDNECK and Proud

And I was in the middle of Wal-Mart the other day, and an African-American woman was walking around with her cell phone to her ear, literally screaming into the phone saying "I told that n****r this" and "That da%& n****r that" -- in the middle of freaking Wal-Mart. Does that give me the right to call her that? NO -- I hate that word and everything that it has come to mean -- and I think that it is especially sad to hear people using it when they know they would jump me for even thinking that word. The point is that people don't think about what they call other people until they are called something inappropriate. We shouldn't be calling names, period!

Well taken
but in this wonderful society
there are so many double standards

just like when you were young and your mother or father could say something that if you said it-- you might have gotten the ole soap in the mouth
or in my case a spanking

But like I said I will try to be more considerate

As for the Nigg- thing that was so common at the college I attended.. it was sprayed on my door. In fact one GLO (i know this is not very common so please don't jump on me ) had mock Michael Jordon shirts with SAMBO heads

Skee-Wee, Soror!! I have noticed you've posted a few times in this forum. I wanted to extend an invitation to you to visit the Alpha Kappa Alpha forum. I'm not sure if you've stopped by or not, but we'd love to Skee you there! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif