Greek Decline
 

Is it just me, or is there an overall decline in Black Greek life? Especially at the college ranks? In the northeast I feel as though we're slowing fading away.

What steps can be taken to bring back Black Greek life and then take it to the next level?

Are you referring to the actual numbers of Black Greeks, or the frequency and quality of programming?

the actual number of members per chapter

I think I posted a thread like this at home (haha). Anyhoo, yes I do. I think people around the world are just not on greek life, because of some of the stigmas that are carried with it. No one wants to give their life away, no one wants their butt beat, no one wants to take orders, so on and so forth. I noticed this the last year that I was on campus. Unfortunately, the hazing incidents of the past do not help.

Re: Greek Decline
 

Most historically BGLO's international headquarters are putting moratoriams on undergraduate membership intakes.

There may be more African Americans attending college than ever before, however many are disconnected with the historical power of the BGLO movement.

Moreover, many young matriculating African Americans have difficulty passing the initial paper screen in terms of grades, GPA and positive extracurricular activities, i.e. the debate team, the math club or the science group and cannot be allowed to advance any further in their BGLO of choice.

Many other traditional or non-traditional greek lettered organizations followed the GPA requirements of their university, which was a 2.0. HBCU's have higher GPA requirements and many of the historically NPHC BGLO's also...

So when you are talking about the University of California at XYZ, and the African American student population is less than 2000, and those that are interested in an organization are 500 and those that would seriously apply are 100--then out of those, there are only 10 that actually can pass the initial paper screen at Rush--much less be favorably voted on... Then that is why there are fewer and fewer undergraduates involved...

Besides the requested monies for individuals are rather steep, too. And many of OUR families are not indoctrinated in the BGLO culture and do not understand its significance. And kids don't explain to their parents really what is going on--really... So what happens is the parents have their sons or daughters begging for what seems excessive to join, when that is not actually the case... Most historical BGLO's are not about that... At any rate, much of that information must be clearly explained...

Much of what I am saying is a result of my Graduate Advisor stint from 2 years ago. So these are my observations...

I think qualified men and women are wising up and don't want to deal with hazing.

I think the other reasons are valid, too.

Interesting comment. Why then was it far more interest and higher membership when hazing was public and condoned? My thought is that when you took the pageantry and public display and acknowledgement out of the pledge process, people don't get to see what it is that they pledge for, so all that they know is rumors and drama about hazing, paper, and how hard someone pledged.

IMHO
 

If you take out the community service aspect of BGLOs (because as many BGLO members and non members say - you do not have to join a BGLO to do community service), I think the folowing may have something to do with it:

In our community in general (and think on all socio-economic levels and not just what you're familiar with) many of today's students are probably the first in their family to go to college, so they probably feel a lot of pressure to succeed and do well. Therefore (and most likely based on what they have HEARD that a person has to go through to join a BGLO) they may not want to jepardize their GPA or major in order to join.

Also, some students have not been exposed BGLO members or chapters so therefore they probably do not see the impact or significance of joining a BGLO in today's world. Yes, they have heard about what BGLOs have done on a national scale in the past, but what about today as a whole? Now add that perception on top of all the rumours, heresay, and events that DO get national attention (i.e. hazing, etc.) some students and their families just to not see the benefits of joining.

And finally, I suspect that today's AA student are probably concentrating more on succeeding in the same ways/terms that their white counterparts have been succeeding since day one (collegiate connections that will benefit them in the future in terms of internships, job hook-ups, etc.). They may feel that BGLOs don't offer these types of benefits.

This is a good question. Maybe more non-members will chime in on why they didn't join in undergrad (besides the fact that there was no chapter or an inactive chapter on campus). This may shed some light on this question as well.

Re: IMHO
 

This IS the trillion dollar question. A GC soror asked this question just a week or so ago. ;) I hope someone can enlighten us.
:confused:

the reason for the decline at my alma mater
 

Overall numbers have somewhat declined at my Alma Mater... But, I know why the number have done so at UAB and might share them..

As for the Male NPHC Greeks, UAB... which has a student body of over 17,000 has only around 900 Black Males. This past year, the sad truth is that the overall cum GPA of UAB Males was only 1.7

That has had an across the board effect on all NPHC Greeks at UAB. I'm the Grad Advisor for the Bruhs at UAB. We had major interest in Omega this past year (22 young men showed interest). Out of those 22 who showed interest, only 7 had a GPA over 2.5 (sad).

On the Female NPHC side... at UAB, the Delta Chapter is on suspension and the AKA's are/were (not sure of the status right now) on a moratorium. With there being 7 times as many Black Females on the yard as compared to black males, added to the fact that the overall cum GPA of the sistahs last year was 2.7 (a full grade point over the fellas), having a good body of prospects to chose from isn't a problem. But, since a high volume of the sisters are interested in AKA and DST, we have a overall drop in female greek numbers as well.

I'm sure other campuses have these unique (and some familiar) problems..

Re: the reason for the decline at my alma mater
 

Hijack#2: :eek: DAYUM! :eek: (where have YOU been? What NO events?) ;) :D :p

My freshmen year at UMass Dartmouth there was one BGLO, Iota Phi Theta. They has only 3 members, two of them were going to graduate at the end of the year. They never held any info sessions so I pledged this other fraternity for 2 weeks and dropped because it wasnt for me. Towards the end of that year Sigma Phi Rho came on to our campus. I watched them from a far and talked with some of their guys and I decided they werent for me either. I think I should have went to a bigger school that has more diverse so I could have more choices. My school has around 8000 students and the African-American population is about 8-10 percent. The majority of this 8-10 percent are Cape Verdean and many of them dont consider themselves black. Going into this fall Iota Phi Theta has now dissolved and Sigma Phi Rho has around 6 or 7 members. Many of my teachers in high school and middle school were apart of BGLO's. They encourraged me to join, but my school didnt have that much to offer for BGLO's. I thought about starting my own but I didnt think my school could handle that, because of one folding and the other with low membership.

I think a lot of the interest and non-interests have lost the value of what it means to be in a BGLO. What is usually seen by the uneducated population (those ignorant to what BGLO's is supposed to be about) is people stepping, a feeling of being clickish, lack of approach, and the community service projects being a front for publicity. A lot of people feel that they can do that and network without "pledging" and being hazed.

Money is also a big part of the equation. We are in a recession right now and becoming a member can be quite expensive.

The BGLO diaspora has obviously changed its focus and noticeably so being that we are in a new millennia. I wonder how BGLO's plan to change the old "face" of its organizations and make them look more attractive to good ,quality prospects......

Plus, do BGLO's realllly want to know how non-members feel or even care about their organization(s)?

I am an Interest but I would hesitate to answer this question for the very reason stated above. I think that people don't really want to know and if they did the reasons would be dismissed.

Re: IMHO
 

I think that one of the reasons that the number of greeks are declining on undergrad chapters is campus "politics." Some people are turned off to greek life or turned down by their org. of choice because of random foolishness that, sometimes, hold no merit. There are issues of rumors, assumptions, he said/she said, etc. This is ruining the very essence of what BGLOs were created for. Instead of uplifting one another, it seems that collge women, and women in general, find any little reason to tear one another down. There are also issues of how members, both male and female, sometimes "change" when they finally make it. This turns some interests off from seeking membership.

As far as the grad level, with most orgs., intakes are very few and far between. Some people are not lucky enough to know members or come in contact with them. Therefore, intakes pass them by and they never achieve their dream. Beside that, I know of a lot of men and women that feel that UG is the end all and be all of gaining membership. They feel like they are going to miss out on vital aspects of membership. Of course, it may not be the same, but how can you claim to GENUINELY want membership, but not respect the org. enough to continue to seek membership beyond your UG years?