Should more "mostly AA/Asian/Hispanic sororities and fraternities" be integrated?
 

Saw a similar post earlier; turnabout discussion is only fair:)

Do they even want to?

According to Alexandra Robbins, historically white sororities are devil-spawn. Her opinion of PanHellenic seems to be much higher, and I would think she'd rather keep the groups segregated, because she is, after all, an expert on the subject.

I'm gonna do a hit-and-run here...

"Integration" is a tricky word, and in the sense of, if a non-black person has the credentials, the drive, the heart, the mesh to feel comfortable and be an assest to a HBGLO, go for it. And the same vice-versa. If a non-white person has the credentials, drive, heart, and mesh to feel comfortable and be an asset to a HWGLO, they should be able to go for that and get a fair shake, too.

I don't think that we should all join hands and sing kumbaya and strive to have all races equally distributed between all GLOs, because that's the way the world should be... politically incorrect as this may be, it's true that cultural differences exist, and instead of trying to blot them out and homogenize the world, we should embrace and respect those differences. Different systems have different setups, different needs, ask different things of their members. We should be so lucky that there's something for everyone in the GLO universe.

nice topic. this should be interesting. i'm off for the summer and bored as all :cool:

I've heard someone mention this before, and I'm curious as to what exaclty she says. I havn't read the book, and have yet to make it to the bookstore to check it out.

Dang, and I always wanted to be an expert!;)

I dont know if intergration about above said Groups would be proper.

It has always been my contention that a person should join the Organization that they feel the most comfortable with and are accepted with the most. Not by race, religion or anything else.

In either this or last week's Newsweek (the one with Back Pain featured as a coverstory) there is a blip in there about this book in which she says this too.

Sort of off topic...why do most BGLO and Hispanic GLO chapters tend to be smaller than NIC/NPC groups? I'm not too familiar with traditionally Asian groups...do they tend to be smaller?

If I had to guess, I would think Hispanic and Asian GLO's would be bigger in California...

Ditto! This quote should be pasted into every thread discussing "integration" issues.

I agree that it's nice to have more than one system in place. I think that gives GLO's additional credibility, and it allows potential members different choices.

I think having different groups allows us to have different systems and learn from one another. NPC has been called antiquated by some. I support NPC and its policies, but I understand the stereotypes and misperceptions. I think additional governing groups would be beneficial to erase this stereotype and to encourage progress.

i'm a non-black member of a BGLO.

Bring on the misperceptions
 

WOW, both last two posts interesting!

Re: Bring on the misperceptions
 

I totally agree. The individual groups in the in the NPC would be, IMO, better off with a total revamping or better yet, disolving of the NPC. A new, more modern umbrella organization would be most beneficial to this particular system.

DONT SAY THAT TO LOUD!

You will be stoned! Heresay I say if I was a member of NPC.

Re: Re: Bring on the misperceptions
 

Not that this surprises me, coming from you, but many NPC women are happy with the system. Every organization - including NPC - can be improved but a total revamping or dissolution? That is a pretty strong statement - particularly if you are not an NPC member and even if you are. Please enlighten me on what the NPC has done to you to lead you to this conclusion.

I definitely agree with HederaNaturale. All the different GLOs were founded with different things in mind, and like adpiucf said, it's great to have so many different chapters and types of GLOs to choose which one you are most comfortable in.

I used to go to a school where minorites were actually the majority of the student population. Some people joined the "historically white" fraternities/sororities, and others joined the "historically LGLOs or BGLOs". It just really depends on what you are looking for in an organization. Some of my friends joined the Latin-based organizations because they really connected to the people in those chapters and they liked that could promote their unique culture... other friends of mine joined the professional GLOs on campus instead because they liked that they could connect with people that have the same majors or fields of study. So really, I think it's just what a pnm is looking for in an organization.

Who says we aren't intergrated?:confused:

I guess it depends on what you call integration, and I think I said the same thing in the OTHER thread, but our organizations are integrated. It's somewhat harder to make it into our organizations if you are not Black but it is not impossible. The last Iota page I saw had founding members of every racial background and I believe their original president was Caucasian. I'm not sure about the other eight NPHC orgs but part of our oath states we do not discriminate against anyone so anyone can apply. Will they? Probably not, because as with NPC/IFC groups are percieved to be only white, we are percieved to be only Black. I've met sorors that were white, Asian, Native American, Indian and I'm sure a whole host of things I don't know. Will they ever outnumber the number of Black women in the sorority? Probably not but they are most definitely welcome to apply.

The answer is a big emphatic NO.

i met this hispanic delta one time...

oops, wrong thread.....

oh yeah...which chapter is that?

Also, your mission is pretty specific isn't it? Service for the African American Community? That would seem to limit interest a bt also.

well, our organizations were founded on the tenets of service, specifically torwards the black community. if people of other races want to join, this is something they have to get used to.

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/32.gif

There are people of all backgrounds in HBGLOs. Just like they are people of all backgrounds in HWGLO's/HLGLO'S/HAGLO's/MGLO's. I think it is an issue of comfort level and choosing what organization fits you best (like Tom Earp said earlier). Iota fit ME best so an IOTA Man is what I am. :)

:confused: Are you talking about a specific chapter or Nationally?

get it said, frat!!!

This quote from one of our Honorable Founders (John Slade), represents the mindset of our organization:

"I wanted to form an organization which would make the American dream a reality. I know it sounds like a pat answer, but I wanted Iota to be a national fraternity which has an impact on the whole of America, not just African-America."

I can't speak for all LGLOs but mine strives for quality over quantity.

I think some of the sororities in other councils are required to keep up their numbers because they have housing issues to consider (I could be wrong). Many cultural GLOs do not have campus housing, so the issue of needing to make rent on a house is non-existent.

What I have noticed in CA is that the AGLO chapters typically seem to be larger than the NPHC and LGLO chapters. Also, CA has a very high population of Asian students in higher education as compared to other groups, so that could have much to do with it.

For LGLOs in CA, there is the "political" factor (although it is not as strong as it was in the 1980s or 90s). What I mean by this is that many Latino students in higher education have a hatred for greek organization (any type) because of past treatment of Latinos by certain fraternities or sororities on some of the larger CA campuses. Some also feel that joining a GLO of any kind is "selling out." If you are going to join one, you may encounter opposition on campus (or even from your own circle of friends), so you have to be willing to put up with that. Many people are not willing to do so. Other people are just not willing to work for their membership. I see more and more of that nowdays.

about size
 

I also think our process of membership selection is a reason why our chapters at certain universities are smaller. Not saying that other councils aren't selective but our processes are just different and will yield different results.

And I love to put up this quote so here it goes.

Well, since most "AA/Asian/Hispanic sororities and fraternities" never had discriminatory clauses, neither expliciltly or implicitly, integration was probably never an uphill battle the way it still is in some cases today.

Also, with the increasing number of non-black students taking advantage of the specific academic opportunities offered by HBCUs (great programs in architecture, pharmacy, agriculture, and engineering, as well as ample scholarship opportunities), we'll probably see even more integration of NPHC groups.

i'm white and a member of an asian-american interest fraternity, lambda phi epsilon. it was founded in 1981 at UCLA, and as you guessed, there are a ton of chapters in cali -- 13 of our 42 chapters. there are also a lot of chapters in the north east and east coast. people of all races are welcomed, there's no discrimination based on race. my chapter has had irish, mexican, greek, indian and many other nationalities represented since we were founded in 1995.

in general our chapters are comparably smaller than historically white orgs. my school has a greek participation of about 10% of the student body of about 4,500 undergrads, and the greek system is generally looked down upon at my school by the administration and not supported. right now, we have 10 actives with a spring class of 2 potentially being crossed this quarter.

It's a specific chapter, and if I can scroll through my web history I'll post the link.

I can't find the chapter website, but I saw several of the profiles when I was roaming the centauronline.com site. The university is Lebanon Valley College, it's still a colony and the individual I'm talking about has a profile up under 2Showtime1963

We voted to integrate in 1968. Since then, blacks who have met the same requirments as white members have become brothers. It's unfortunate that it took that long, I think we missed a lot of great brothers because of that rule. It only passed by 1 vote after having failed 2 years previously. Y'all might have heard about that though with Brother Tom Johnson coming out against Brother Trent Lott after some of Brother Lott's statements at Senator Thurmand's last birthday party.

In some places, race isn't an issue, in others, it is. No one can "force" integration in our types of organizations. It just happens because cultures change and dividing lines fade. I like that we're becoming a much more accepting culture, but there is a ways to go yet.

That's the understatement of the century.

and this board is proof positive of it.

I think a lot of great points have been brought up, especially the one about how all the councils are integrated. Yes, my sorority was created by seven Black schoolteachers, but now I have sorors of every race, creed, class, and color and I love them all.

People should choose an organization that best fits them, not just because of their race.

I'm going to piggy back a little bit...

While BGLO chapters may be smaller one white campuses...please so not think they are small everywhere.

It is very common to see sororities cross 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 (even into the 100s) of young women at one time. Case in point, Alpha Kappa Alpha at Albany State (GA) had 101 girls this spring....whereas my friend crossed Delta Sigma Theta at ?U of Akron in a class of 6....

now if say, Sigma Sigma Sigma, or Phi Mu chartered at an HBCU...i doubt if they would be the same size as they are at other schools.


Spekaign of which...how many HBCUs have "white" orgs on campus that are not professional, honorary, recognition, etc....but purely social. (IE, Delta Zeta, Phi Mu, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Delta Delta Delta, etc.)

I think that speaks a lot more on diversity...to me...

I know that North Carolina A&T had a chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha...I don't know if they still have it...

Anyone know?

yea man, i heard about that......i wonder how they got down.....