Diversity Decisions in GLO's
 

The diversity at UGA thread got me thinking … for those GCers who had the desire and/or opportunity to consider both NPHC and NPC/IFC organizations as a collegiate member, how did you make the decision to join the council (and/or organization chapter) that you eventually chose?

The campus that I attended and now advise at could be described as a small, mid-western, “white bread”, rural farm community. There are only two “D9” chapters on campus (one sorority and one fraternity) each having probably less than eight members at any one time. There are currently no recognized Hispanic or Asian GLOs. On the other hand there are six NPCs and ten IFCs with a fairly active and positive image of “Greek Life”. It would seem to me that a minority or bi-racial student attending my school might have to make a choice between being hugely active as a collegiate member on campus (and maybe an active alumni) -- or -- focusing on other endeavors (sports, major, etc.) as a collegiate then striving to become an active alumni member following graduation. I just don’t see the NPHC chapters being very active collegiate members on my campus by comparison to the NPC/IFC chapters.

From the NPC prospective, our chapters are very open and interested in becoming diverse during recruitment with most PNMs receiving a bid no matter their ethnicity. Unfortunately, with the school attracting the student population that it does, there just isn’t that much diversity in recruitment (which is probably the same reason that the NPHC chapters are so small in comparison to the NPC/IFC chapters and Asian and Hispanic chapters are non-existent).

I realize that I am asking GC to compare apples and kiwi fruit to oranges with this question but think that it eventually gets to the bottom of what each of us wanted out of our respective organizations and councils and why we ended up making the decisions that we did at the schools we attended.

:) I don't fit the criteria for this thread so I'll just address this part based on my experiences and those of some of the NPHCers I know:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kansas City There are only two “D9” chapters on campus (one sorority and one fraternity) each having probably less than eight members at any one time. I just don’t see the NPHC chapters being very active collegiate members on my campus by comparison to the NPC/IFC chapters.

Some of us are from NPHC chapters with 8 (or less--some chapters have had to "run the yard" with 2 people until they could bring in new members) members and with only 1 (or 2) other NPHC organizations at a PWI.

We were extremely active on campus and in the community. It simply took more time and effort on our part to do tons of programs a semester, and be visible so people could see our dedication, than it would a chapter with 30+ members that could have a division of labor.

My activity as an undergrad is a big reason why I've been active as an alumnae member, years after graduating. The size of the chapter doesn't matter. What the chapter does is what matters so I hope people don't use size of the chapter (or size of the organization) as an excuse. :)

KC, I would like to add that in my experience, NPHC organizations have a great deal of required off campus meetings which may give the appearance that a chapter wasn't interested in a particular campus-wide event.

I know in any given spring semester in my region, a collegiate chapter might have to give up several weekends for the intake process, regional convention, district convention, required leadership training, and other required events.

Also, socially speaking, the life of NPHC members is often filled with road trips to other campuses. It's part of the appeal, but it's also a tough choice when you want to also have a presence on campus.

I think it's worth discussing and comparing (or contrasting, whatever) the two types of organizations. Just wanted to put out a reason why it might "seem" like the orgs aren't invested in the campus.

"Meetings and paperwork and compliance, oh my!" :p


Exactly. If you haven't built relationships with frat or sorors from other chapters, you have alienated yourself from the overall sisterhood or brotherhood.

And a lot of us do off campus parties as much as, and even more than, we do on campus parties.

Totally agree and of course, what I mentioned in the OP was just my impression based on my experiences at a small rural state school. I fully expect someone's experience at a larger, more diverse school to be totally different. I would like to learn a little more about the experiences of others and what factors PNMs might consider if having to choose between membership in the different councils. :)

^^^ I honestly think your experiences might also be mirrored at other types of schools.

Case in point: A big reason why I waited to pursue Alpha on the alumni level was because I was VERY much invested in being an active participant in my campus culture. I was active in APO and did a lot of other things which kept me on campus. The students who pledged NPHC organizations at my schools usually disappeared because their entire social experience changed. Because they were city-wide chapters, chartered at multiple schools, and MY school was the one that didn't recognize Greek life, the majority of the programs were held in other places.

Looking back, I understand why things happened the way that they do, but I was still glad that I waited to join.

I'm sorry that I can't answer your original question at all, but everything else you mention brings up very valid and discussion-worthy points. :)

And at other small nondiverse/homogenous schools. ;)

I think it has a lot to do with how you were raised and the amount of cultural indoctrination you experienced.

My school has about 37,000 students and 50%+ are Hispanic. Thus, the Greek population reflects those numbers. Even at bigger like UF and FSU, "Whiter" schools, I would say the majority of hispanic Greeks join IFC and NPC groups.

I just never thought about joining a latin fraternity because it didn't appeal to me and I would never fit in as a brother of an LGLO.

KC, I can only answer the question from the prospect of being a Bi-racial child. Both my brother and I are bi-racial and we both pledged a NPHC fraternity and sorority (he pledged APA and I DST). When we were given the opportunity to go to college, we were and weren't given a choice as to which school to go to. She told us that if we went to a PWI we'd have to pay and if we went to an HBCU she'd pay. That was the choices that were presented to us. She felt that she wanted us to get a different experience in life than what she had at the time (she went to a PWI).
I know for me, because I was raised around my mother and her family, I only knew about one "set" of people, I never knew about my father's side of the family or about his culture (but that is a different story in of itself).
Where we went to school (he at PVAMU and me at TC in Alabama) I chose DST because I was proud of what it represented for me and what it represented in me. I found that my organization fit me, my morals, my ethics, and my beliefs moreso than the other sororities present at the time (which there were only 3 D9 sororities present). Since my campus is, was, and probably will always be small, I got a chance to look at all of the sororities and what they represented for others and to others. What I saw in my organization represented the best for me and still does so to this day. I made great friends with other members of the D9 while at campus and two of my best friends are in other organizations. But for me, I had to look at which of the organizations best represented myself and best represented what I stood for. (Of course it helped that my sister is DST and half of my family is DST)
But to specifically answer your question, I think a lot of it depends upon how the person identifies themself and who they identify themselves with as to how they would look at which sorority/fraternity they would be interested in becoming a member of. Alot of it, and I think this is for most people, depends on who the person is and what they are about as to determine what they want for themselves and for their lives.

You know, I don't actually get asked this as much as I thought I would (most questions come internally from the frat). But I'm glad you asked.

My freshman year I did the IFC rush with one of my best friends from high school. At the end of the rush, my friend had decided Greek Life wasn't for him and I had received a bid from a smaller fraternity that was in a revamping process at the time. I was attracted to it because it was smaller than the other IFC fraternites and that was something I wanted--a brotherhood where I would actually know each brother (a stigma that I recently learned isn't necessarily true, many IFC members know all of their members and facts about each one). Anyway, they partied way too much, the tradition aspects of the org were lax, and ultimately, I decided to decline my bid and thought that was the end of Greek Life for me. Until I looked into other options.
I had a co-worker one day say to me "you would be a cute Que." And I gave the typical small-town white boy answer of "uhh...a what?" And then she talked to me about the NPHC and the MGC fraternities on campus. I came from a small town where my high school population was 1200 and the only non-whites I saw were on TV, so the idea of Greek Life was foreign to me, even more so were the NPHC and the MGC. Luckilly, I'm one of those people that reads A LOT (thank God for messageboards like these haha). Bought a couple of books and talked to some friends and greek advisers and ultimately narrowed my choice down to two fraternities based on their national information and what I had read. I went to events and met members of each organization and found my niche in Iota Phi Theta.

To sum up this crazy long story of my greek life, I chose an NPHC org because:
--The membership was smaller than that of the IFC orgs
--I wanted more hands-on community service as opposed to a philanthropy
--My college town has a large black population in need of services that my org actively works with (and I've since changed my career goals to reflect that)
--We have social events, but they are moderately spaced throughout the semester
--DUES WERE CHEAPER
--MGC/NPHC orgs hold seminars open to all members of our campus
--The culture is just facinating, and it never gets dull
--We celebrate eachother's backgrounds and don't have to change our personalities to match the overall stereotype of our organization (which, to be white in a black org and not have to "act black" to be "cool," is one of the reasons why I love my frat)

*breathes* So that's my story!