Just thought this might be of interest....
 

I really didn't know what to think when I read this article. As someone who doesn't perm her hair (I press or wear it in puffs) it kind of hurt me. I just wanted to know what everyone else thought.
http://www.news-observer.com/daily/1.../09/tri01.html

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"If you believe you hold the truth in your hand, how will you know it when it comes to your door?"

[This message has been edited by Poplife (edited February 20, 2000).]

This is very interesting. All I have to say is that this incident is chapter based. The whole sorority should not be looked at indifferently because of this. My chapter is about to have a cotillion ball in November also and I invite all of you to come and see the variety of women not only in the chapter, but also the representation of our star debutantes. It is a shame that this happened and that AKA is in some way a part of it. But I must state that Majority wins. It is like that with most everything in the world. So obviously someone wanted it this way, and mind you it did not necessarily have to be THE WOMEN OF THE Raleigh CHAPTER of Alpha Kappa Alpha (but maybe some big supporters of the event- though that is a poor excuse). So, I would suggest taking this in stride and
realizing that not all good comes from everyone's soul.

I remember reading about this in the newspaper and magazines when the story first came out. I thought back to my experience as an AKA debutante and how much I enjoyed the months of preparation in anticipation of the big ball.

Soror LadyAKA is correct that this was a chapter-based incident, and sorors everywhere were disheartened by the entire situation, including me.

Thank you for sharing your opinions with me. I figured it was a chapter based incident and I know that you cannot let a tiny group speak for a large body of women. I've never been near the debutante scene so I didn't know what the expectations of the young women are. While I thought the young women's situation was very sad, it still won't keep me from having fun with my natural hair texture. As far as the people who decided not to let the girl make her debute, I guess it is just their loss. =)

[This message has been edited by Poplife (edited February 20, 2000).]

Is it me or my bad interptation. Her mother is a Delta, right?

How would one go about becoming a debutante?

Tillennium01

Unless I missed something, I don't think her mother is a Delta. However, a mother's affiliation with another organization is not a consideration when selecting debutantes. When I was a debutante, there were a few young ladies who were chosen and participated even though their mothers were members of other sororities.

The graduate chapter that sponsors the debutante ball in my hometown selected 100 high school seniors and we ended up with 75. We were chosen two ways. Either a soror sponsored the debutante or the high school guidance counselors in the area submitted our names based on our academic record and character.

Ok, after reading again I spotted this near the bottom of the article:

"I don't think we had as many stringent rules as they do now," said Annette Barskile, herself a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

It said the young girl's last name is Barskile, so I assumed this was her mother speaking.

Poplife,

I went back and read it again. I guess her mom is a Delta. It mentioned that she, too, was a debutante.