College Brothers Wake Up
 

WAKE UP!!!

Thoughts on Undergraduate Leadership, Politics and Involvement

By Kerry Gilliard,



By and large, undergraduate chapters are the heartbeat, lifeline and
soul of all Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) nationwide,
probably comprising nearly 3/4 the total enrollment of the
organization. Undergraduate dues are the primary source of income
for most organizations to keep afloat; ideally, if an organization's
dues [yearly] were (on average) $77 per person and the enrollment of
the organization was around 80,000 members, even if only HALF of
them paid, the organizations would be bringing in over $3 million
dollars per year.

So why is it that all of the power in these organizations rests
primarily with the graduate chapters? Why are the lines of
communication and particpation from undergrads so low, laxidaisical
and straight up NON-existent? One word: politics.

Just as in the government's political arena and the citizens of the
US, our undergraduates don't FEEL like they're a part of the process-
at least not on a significant level. They don't feel welcome at the
board meetings, the conventions and such, so they don't go. They
don't "see" where and what is happening with their dues, so they
don't pay.

What they DO see, however, is TRIFE. They see grown men and women EGO
TRIPPING off positions and offices of NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. They
see people run and campaign for these offices, get into these
positions and they don't do a thing to further the cause or
philosphy of the organization, yet these same "officers" will be the
first to yell "suspension" or "expulsion" when a chapter screws up
and it's not doing it's job. Teapot calling the kettle black?

Undergraduate Black Greeks, it's time to WAKE UP and TAKE OVER our
organizations.

By take over, I don't mean to disrespect our officers and disregard
the rules: on the contrary, I mean for us to have more say in what
goes on in the upper echelons of our great organizations. Be
involved in the lawmaking process. Since you are the majority, YOU,
help establish the rules. YOU sit down and work out the financial
structures of the organizations and YOU work out the intake process
YOU want.

In short, play the game. Politics and leadership seem to go hand in
hand with every organization from businesses to fraternities and
sororities and it's about time you learned what you needed to do to
get ahead in some of these situations. Strength exists in numbers
and since our numbers do show to be the majority, a body of
FINANCIAL undergraduates has MASSIVE voting power, regardless of
what you may think.

But before you run off and begin your little "Pinky and the Brain"
plot for your organization, a few things need to occur:

#1- You MUST pay your organization's dues. If you're not financially
active, you have NO voice and NO reason to complain about JACK.
You're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem because
the money from YOUR dues is what keeps the organization alive. I
believe that ALL of us did make a pledge to push the cause and
philosophy of the organization you're in FORWARD----> by any means
necessary. This includes paying your dues.

#2- You've GOT to be ACTIVE, both on your campus and in your
community. Given the massive amount of media sterotyping, bashing
and negative image casting that they've done with Fraternities and
Sororities over the past decade or so- from "School Daze" to
everyone's favorite episode of "New York Undercover" and then
the "real stuff" that has happened- people getting sued-KAPsi, my
Frat - AKA's with seven hazing lawsuits pending, etc..etc..etc.., it
is ABSOLUTELY imperative that we are SEEN DOING POSITIVE THINGS!!!
From just talking to a group of kids at a local high school, to
organizing a mentoring program, we've got to do positive things in
the community!! And we MUST seek P-U-B-L-I-C-I-T-Y and bring
these positive acts to the attention of the media.

#2a- We need to start COMMUNICATING with our graduate chapter
counterparts. Too many undergrads DON'T know what's going on
Internationally with the organization, policies, laws, regulations,
elections and such. Bueracracy and red tape are a PAIN in the behind
and sometimes you don't feel like dealing with them but consider
this: if you know what's going on, and you know how things are
organized (or rather DISorganized), then you can also work to
implement changes in that system when the opportunity arises.

#3- most of all- We need to look for QUALITY and not QUANTITY or
POPULARITY when we choose our members for our organizations. That
computer nerd sitting over there may just be the vehicle by which
your organization establishes a worldwide network for volunteer help
sometime in the future. That fashion misfit may be the next Maya
Angelou and help inspire a generation of girls to grow up and become
women of your organization. We need to stop SOCIALIZING and start
SERVICING.

Plain and simple, all of us need to take a look back to the early
1900's (and 1963 for the Iotas) and take a look at the perfect
examples of collegiate leadership: the founders of our
organizations. If we can grasp their mentatlity, we can have our
organizations handling business like we should've been doing for the
past few decades. Let's wake up and get down to business, undergrads.




APhiA

wow.
 

Professor,

What an excellent piece. Thanks for posting it. And I assure you, the problems mentioned are FAR from exclusive to BGLO's.

Interesting
 

Great insight from this bruh!
But I think that some of his info isn't correct. He states that the majority of the active membership in fraternities is undergraduate. I was at a district meeting and according to the district director, this just isn't the case with Alpha. The district director stated that even though that 90% of the people who are made every year are undergrads, alumni dues make up over 80% of the operating revenue of the frat. (Meaning that more men are paying more dues as alumni brothers, seeing that college brothers don't have to pay national dues after they pay the initiation fee, until a year after they graduate). This shows that the undergrads may have numbers, and this may also inflate their active membership numbers, they do not have the power that the author thinks that they have. I agree with his assertion that they need to be more vocal about their views at conventions and more active in the community, but I don't think that the leadership of the frat is ignoring a sleeping giant, if it were. Bro. D9 suggested that every 4 years an undergrad be elected president of the general organization, seeing as though that the general director actually does all of the work, but understand this, being the president of Alpha Phi Alpha National is a very political office. With a group of men like Alpha, there must be a assurance of self and goal in the leader. A 21 year old college brother, though great he maybe, is still 21. I think you can ask even the presidents of the college chapters about their own campus politics and they will tell you it's not always fun. And the reponsibility is something that is not for everyone.

I don't think the crisis of fraternities (if there is one) lies in leadership, but rather the quality of men that become a part of the fraternities. If there is ever a need for college brothers to step up, it is definatly in the area of intake and education. Once a consensus is reached there, then we will see a dramatic drop in the other issues.

Blackwatch!!!!!!

While I read your post and agree with some of the things you said, Undergrads don't make up the majority of our NPHC organizations membership (at least not the finacial rolls). If you were to see the reports of the Affiliate Organizations, their reports would be similar.

On an average 7 out of 10 undergrads will not become financially active with a graduate chapter after college. I was on a line of 7 and today, 15 years later, two of us are members of a graduate chapter and financial with the national organization.

From attending alot of conferences and conventions, the undergards usually leave the business meetings where all the decisions are being made to go to the malls, etc. Then the ones elected to the National Board of Directors, don't usually show up meetings and conventions to speak on the undergrads behalf. So, I would say - demand better leadership from your undergraduate leaders on the respective Board of Directors, become financial and work in your community. This is the only way, you can say that you are making a difference in your organization.

I always say - If you have a car and don't put gas in it - it will not move. So, If you are a member of an NPHC Organization and you are not paying your annual dues, you are not contributing to its wellbeing, no matter how many shirts you wear or how many decals you have on your car.

Quiet Riot
Spr. 88
Life Member, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

College brothers wake up
 

I agree that there is a problem when control of a COLLEGE fraternity is getting away from COLLEGE brothers. The main ingredient of collegiate greek organizations is the undergraduate experience. Otherwise what's the point? Alpha Phi Alpha can claim to be the first because we are the first COLLEGIATE fraternity founded for Black men. You join in college and it lasts for life. When we get away from the undergraduate experience we lose our way, and that is what I think has happened to collegiate greek organizations. I think alot of college students don't feel that the organization is tangibly theirs, and they have as much ownership in it as they usually do. Instead of fostering and enriching the undergrad experience, older members always talk about "don't haze, don't drink, don't get the organization in trouble, liability, libiality, liability." While these are good intentions, it makes older members sound like extra mommies and daddies, which of course turn college members off, and they do their own thing anyway. Of course, some college members are just lazy, as are some alumni. I think if more focus were put on enriching the undergrad experience instead of "don't be the next lawsuit," alot of problems would start to be solved. But that's just my .06 cents.