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Sorority racial snub a 'wake-up call'


By Rebecca McCarthy
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

Athens -- After she heard her sorority sisters disparaging an
African-American who was seeking to join them, a member of Alpha Gamma Delta
said, she decided to listen to her conscience and share her concerns with
University of Georgia officials.

In a letter, the sorority member said the African-American membership
candidate was discussed separately from other potential members.

Sorority members who had given her a low score "attributed their ratings to
her race, making comments such as 'Why did she want to go through White
Rush?' [and] 'If we had a black girl in our sorority, none of the
fraternities would want to do anything with us,' " the letter says.

The letter set in motion a series of events that has led UGA to temporarily
suspend the sorority and launch an investigation into possible racial
discrimination in the member selection process.

"This incident should prove a wake-up call for the entire Greek system,"
said Richard Mullendore, UGA vice president for student affairs. "We've
focused on issues relative to substance abuse, hazing and leadership more
than we have diversity. It's probably an issue we need to give a lot more
attention to now."

Julie Cretin, national director of Alpha Gamma Delta, said her organization
takes the allegations of racial discrimination "very seriously." She and
other officials will be in Athens today to conduct their own investigation,
talking with the women in the UGA chapter, including the young woman who
complained.

The student addressed her letter to Rick Rose, assistant vice president for
student affairs. UGA would not identify the student who wrote the letter or
the African-American student.

"I was in shock and was extremely disappointed," the letter says. "It is
hard for me to believe that our society still harbors cruel and exclusionary
clubs that encourage their members to embarrass and humiliate others in
order to make themselves feel superior. I am confident that the University
of Georgia would not knowingly permit such blatantly discriminatory behavior
on its campus."

As far he knows, Mullendore said, the allegation marks the first time a UGA
sorority has been accused of racial discrimination. A contributing factor
may be that few African-American students choose to participate in
membership recruitment, or rush, which shepherds participants from one
predominantly white sorority to another.

The four predominantly African-American sororities at UGA don't conduct a
collective rush. Instead, each does an "intake" once a year, usually in the
fall or spring.

"It takes a lot of guts for a black student to go through rush like this
girl did," said Kendree Zaic, a sophomore from Alpharetta who was a member
of Pi Beta Phi sorority last year. "It surprises me that [discrimination]
has never come up before. [Alpha Gamma Delta] probably aren't the only ones
who do it. The systems are kind of separated here."

Though UGA doesn't keep records on the racial breakdown of individual Greek
organizations, some sororities and fraternities are known to have members
who are not of the predominant skin color. But by and large, they remain
primarily self-segregated.

"You have to look at it from a regional perspective," Mullendore said. At
large Southern universities like UGA, the system is much more segregated
that in other parts of the country or at smaller institutions.

Because many Greek groups began in the South, they have a longer history,
traditions, many more alumni "and a certain way of doing business that's
been in existence for a long time," he said. "As a result, it's a little
more difficult for them to embrace change."

The letter writer wanted to move out of the sorority house, but found she
couldn't get out of her housing contract at Alpha Gamma Delta. Rather than
continue to live with people "who found outright prejudice acceptable," she
withdrew from the university, the letter says.

"Many of my sisters made insulting faces at me and made insensitive comments
to me," the letter says. "No one offered to help as I removed my belongings
from the house. They accused me of overreacting 'to an issue that just
wasn't that important!' "

The student's comments "tear at my heart," Mullendore said. "Judgments about
people are rendered on a daily basis, but shouldn't be based on the color of
someone's skin."

While on temporary suspension, Alpha Gamma Delta cannot hold social
functions or participate in UGA activities as an organization. Supporters
said no matter what the investigation yields, the damage to Alpha Gamma
Delta's reputation is almost irreparable.

If investigators determine the allegations are true, Alpha Gamma Delta could
informally resolve the situation by admitting what occurred and coming up
with a resolution, or it could deny the allegations and request a judicial
hearing. Probation, suspension or expulsion are all possible outcomes,
Mullendore said.

-- Correspondent Andrew DeMillo contributed to this report.

__________________________________________________ _________________

Text of letter

Dr. Richard M. Ross II
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
201 Academic Building
Athens, GA 30602

Dear Dr. Ross:

Ever since I visited the University of Georgia during my junior year in high
school, I knew that I wanted to be a Georgia Bulldawg. I wanted to make the
most of my college years by becoming active in the Greek system.

In Fall 1999, I went through Recruitment and I chose Gamma Alpha chapter of
Alpha Gamma Delta. I chose this sorority over the seventeen others because
of the diversity I observed and experienced among the sorority sisters.
During Recruitment and pledging, I was led to believe that this sorority,
more than any other I visited, valued diverse backgrounds, ideas and
perspectives. I thought then that it did not matter what a young woman
looked like on the outside . . . that it is the inside that counts.

Unfortunately, on Monday, August 14, 2000, I became aware that the
attractive value system presented to me was only an Illusion. There was one
African American recruit who came through our house. . .

However, after the Round One parties, the chapter convened to vote on the
recruits who had made a bad impression. This young African American woman
was discussed separately from the other low-scoring recruits. She was not
given a fair chance by my chapter and was, in fact, excluded because of her
race.

It appears that there was a wide variance in the scores assigned to her
(l.e. some rated her very high while others rated her extremely low). Those
sisters who gave her low scores openly attributed their ratings to her race,
make comments such as:


"Why did she want to go through White Rush?"
"If we had a Black girl in our Sorority, none of the fraternities would want
to do anything with us."

Based upon these racist comments, and others, the majority of the chapter
decided to out her. I was in shock and was extremely disappointed. It is
hard for me to believe that our society still harbors cruel and exclusionary
clubs that encourage their members to embarrass and humiliate others in
order to make themselves feel superior. I am confident that the University
of Georgia would not knowingly permit such blatantly discriminatory behavior
on its campus.

I decided that I had to take action. I discussed these issues with our
Executive Council, composed of three advisers and all sorority officers. I
told them how I felt about the biased decision that had been made. I
explained that I could not live with people who found outright prejudice
acceptable.

When it appeared that they and the advisers supported the racist behavior of
the sisters, I requested that my housing contact be voided. The Council
reviewed my case and decided not to release me from my contract. However, I
must inform you that I am aware that there are fair and courageous
individuals in the Gamma Alpha chapter, including the adviser who was in
tears because of the unfairness of the Council's decision.

My only choices were to remain in the house or withdraw from the University
of Georgia. Withdrawing from the university . . . was extremely difficult.
Because of my values, I very reluctantly withdrew from the university and
left many good friends whom I met outside of the sorority.

I met with you to discuss what had happened and appreciate the time and the
interest that you invested in my situation. As promised, I have outlined
some ideas concerning actions that should be taken to promote a more diverse
and nondiscriminatory Greek and academic environment at the University of
Georgia:

-- University leadership should formally articulate on an ongoing basis that
racist, sexist and other biased behavior will not be tolerated.

-- Launch a formal investigation into the situation as a possible violation
of civil rights laws and university policy

-- Institute mandatory diversity training for all Greek life participants,
consisting of awareness-building and addressing legal compliance issues

-- Develop professionalism among advisors and Sorority/fraternity leadership
through training that addresses:


Leadership skills
Management of human differences
Enhancing the current Greek system

Challenge Greek leadership to increase diversity throughout the selection
process.

I want to share with you the petty retaliation from my sisters that I
experienced after I expressed my feelings on this matter. From the time I
notified the Council that I was withdrawing, the women treated me like a
pariah. . . .

Many of my sisters made insulting faces at me and made insensitive comments
to me. No one offered to help as I removed my belongings from the house.
They accused me of overreacting "to an issue that just wasn't that
important!" Friends of mine who came by to help me move out were not treated
with the hospitality that guests at our house always were. Attempts were
made to prevent them from entering the house to see me.

When I told my parents about what happened and what I decided, they were
very proud of me. Their hope has always been to wipe out racism in their
lifetime through their children. I feel that my actions were taken in the
spirit of what my parents and I believe. I want to help them live their
dream. I know that if I did not make a stand, nobody would.

"We as a Greek community commit to upholding the highest moral, academic and
ethical standards upon which we were founded, to change inappropriate
'traditions' which defy the ideals of our founding rituals, and to accept
the higher level of accountability of Greek members for the safety of one
another." These are ideals stated on the UGA Greek Life homepage. It is my
hope that through proposals such as mine the University of Georgia's Greek
system will be able to live up to these ideals.

Respectfully,

(name omitted)

I applaude this particular young lady for standing up for what she believed in and actually went to the lenghths she did to prove her point. She left a school that she loved, she left a sorority that she was 'fooled' into loving to make a point that she wasn't going to stand for the racial discrimination her 'sisters' displayed. The fact that she even went before her fellow sisters--alone--and told them her true feelings says a lot about her. I have a deep respect for that kind of courage. Too many times people let things 'slide' because they are alone on an issue and because they don't want to be resented and set apart from their peers. I hope that other people see what this young woman did as well as the racial discrimination factor. This incident of racial discrimination would never have been known if this white woman didn't stand up for her beliefs and what is RIGHT. I am sickened that these kinds of acts still exist and I hope that women of ANY ethnic background are not totally put off by what this organization did. I know this happens a lot, but please don't think that ALL predominatly white organizations think like these racist young girls. The young woman that stood up for what she believed in not only is a role model for white women, but for ALL women everywhere.

Kudos to the Sister Greek for standing up for what she believed in. But, withdrawing from school was a straight PUNK move...but I understand. I have said this MANY times, we don't go to college to PLEDGE ANY SORORITY OR ANY FRATERNITY...ANYTHING THAT STOPS ANYONE FROM GETTING THE DEGREE, SHOULD BE CUT OFF IMMEDIATELY!

And with that said, there is NO way in **** I would have withdrawn, from college over some racist chicks. I don't know any African American women who would have made it through highschool, had they ran everytime racism greeted them face to face. I believe in the tactics of the Art of War...they would have been leaving before me.

I am sure there must be some constitutional guideline prohibiting racial discrimination. It will be interesting to see how the National office handles this issue. Sister Girl was hoodwinked and straight bamboozled into a LIE. I wonder why her parents did not advise her to sue them first! Sister Greek has a big battle to fight.

Hopefully, this will not tarnish the WGLO system too much. In general they do good. work

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Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated...Every Finer Woman's Dream!

[This message has been edited by Finer Woman10-A-91 (edited September 08, 2000).]

ZetaAce,

You are totally right. My heart tells me that no self respecting member of Kappa Alpha Psi would ever descriminate based on race, especially anyone who knows how adamant our founders were against descrimination, and knowing some of the reasons that they formed our Beloved Bond.

Our founders raged many battles against such behavoir, and founder Elder Watson Diggs fought a major campaign against housing descrimination at Iniana U.

But my head tells me that somewhere, some how, we may have some members who look at it the other way. For those, I say you totaly disrespect the letters, the founders, and me when you participate in such behavior.

MN

I give the Alpha Gam member a great deal of credit for coming forward and I hope that when she goes back to a university, the Alpha Gam chapter realizes what a pearl of a member they have! All the Alpha Gam chapters I know of are incredibly diverse AND I believe that their recruiting mission encourages diversity.

I'm curious to know what chapter, if any, the potential member in question joined.

Barbara

DAMN.

SoCal Girl, everything you said...I totally agree!

So many Greek "leaders" talk the talk about diversity, accepting people for themselves, and looking outside the surface. But a lot of time that's all it is, just talk...otherwise why would something like this happen??

And do you know what scares me? I KNOW my sorority has chapters that would do the same thing. I look at the group pictures of our national convention, and every single face is white.

As the student affairs VP said...we need to stop fixating on alcohol and hazing, and deal with things that are a lot more relevant to the world as a whole.

Barb--

I heard (I live in Georgia) that the rushee dropped out of rush after a couple of parties.

The rushee did drop out. All the information is in the UGA student newspaper (the red and black--theRedandBlack.com)
I was curious to see what non-greek had to say. But from what I read, the story just broke a this week

I just wanted to say that I also agree that the girl should be commended. It takes much courage to not go along with the group particularly when taking a stand can have such dire consequences.
I wonder how many of us, if put in the same situation, would react the same way. [I would like to state here that discrimnation(sp)--as I am sure we all know--comes in many different forms. What if this person were gay, or white and trying to get into a BGLO? How would all of us who so readily commend this girl for her stand would do the same?

Allow a dissenting opinion for a moment. I believe the girl has ulterior motives. She mentioned that she was attracted to this org because of its diversity. I infer that that means they have (had) non-white members. Do they suddenly have a problem with diversity? She lived in this house for a whole year. She didn't hear or notice any racism or bigoted remarks before now? If she is such a crusader from a liberal family, she never noticed this mentality? Did the frats have a problem with the chapter diversity that had attracted her previously.? She states that most of the chapter gave the Black girl high marks, so the whole chapter can't be racist. Isn't the sister better off not becoming an "affirmative action" member who will receive the cold shoulder once she is a member? Wouldn't she be better off rushing an inclusive sorority. They must have made her feel comfortable if she decided to rush that particular one. To me only a coward would leave the school. Stay and fight the racism. Don't write a letter before exhausting all avenues and then run. I know that the knee-jerk reaction is to scream racism, but just by reading between the lines, something else is going on.

This young woman has the courage of her convictions. Based on the given info (the letter), it sounds like she tried to get out of her housing contract but was unable to do so, therefore leaving school was the only means of doing this--you must be a marticulating student to live in a house. I'm quite certain if this womans grades are ok, she should get back into the university with no problem.
All it takes is one person to make a difference and she did it. Maybe she wasn't the only one in her chapter that felt that way but she DID SOMETHING about it for the good of all. So in my book, she is a HERO.

You know, Ms. Rosa Parks was only one person who took a stand and look what the outcome was...
X Girl

This is sickening that this still goes on. I too applaud the girl who stood up. You have to take a stand on things like this, and bring it to the light so that all can see.
I might have tried to handle it internally though.

First by confronting my chapter (which she did), if that got me no where, then you go to your regional director, and if that gets you now where, nationals. Only after I had went through this process would I go to the school.

I am a true believer in keeping things in house. Thankfully I wouldn't have to deal with this, since Kappa Alpha Psi does not descreminate based on race, and was the first BGLO to have it written into it's constitution.

One Luv

MN

That woman has LOADS of courage. I totally understand why she left school over it. If she stayed in school she'd have to live with the racist little girls that were treating her like crap. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif This way she can transfer to another school and either get a degree somewhere else or transfer back to UGA in a year or so.

I don't believe for a heartbeat that this is a national policy for AGD; so I still have much love for the org. But that chapter? Well, I'm definitely glad that I'm not there.

Yes racism is still out there. And yes it's bad in the South and worse in the Deep South. But when people like this woman make these kinds of statements; hopefully, it'll wake some people up. I pray that other sisters in that chapter have the sense and courage to stick up for her and future rushees who happen to not be white.


When I hear about chapters like this it makes me wonder if my sorority has chapters like it. The idea scares me completely.

I usually take offense/totally can't relate to the idea that I belong to a WHITE GLO. My chapter just doesn't reflect that. But then I get our newsletter or I flip through our pledge book. I search and search for pictures of non-white girls. They're there, but damn few. That's when it hits me that I DO belong to a white glo. It leaves me with an awful feeling. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/redface.gif

I don't understand why we're the only chapter on campus that actually REFLECTS our school. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif But I'm damn glad about it. Honestly I'd go insane and be totally unhappy if we were like the others, with less than ten minorities. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/redface.gif

I live in a predominantly Filipino neighborhood and have always gone to predominantly Filipino/Asian schools. That's why I'm not comfortable with tons of whites but I am with Asians, it's what I know.

I think maybe that's why there's the need for ethnic focused GLOs or why a non-white girl might want to join a white sorority. And vice versa.

It's probably also why those little girls acted the way they did. Maybe they weren't raised with any black people around? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif They all need to go back to pre-school and learn to share and play nice with someone who doesn't look like them.

MN- I am sure that they have that clause written in to their bylaws (or somewhere too), however, it still happened. We all know that just because it is written that it shouldn't happen, doesn't mean it doesn't.

I too applaud this young lady. Withdrawing from school is taking a serious stand for your believes. How many of us would do the same??

ZetaAce

Along with everyone else, I have to say kudos to this young woman. I don't know if I would have withdrawn from school, but it shows just how serious she is about fighting racial discrimination.

I think it will be interesting to see how AGD and the university handle the situation.



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SilverTurtle@greekchat.com
Phi Beta Fraternity
Phi chapter