We do not have COUSINS
 

Sorors, A friend of mine practically insisted that we Zetas and Sigmas have greek lettered organizations Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity and Sigma Lambda Gamma Sorority as COUSINS. History Check: We do not have COUSINS. Don't we have enough family already? If it is not nationally recognized, then it does not exist. In case some of you do consider these people our cousins, you are making a mockery of the creation our auxiliaries and our constitutional bond with Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Do not give out the BOND. Our bond with Sigma is one of those things that makes us a very unique sorority. If they want to be down, then they should've PLEDGED BLUE AND WHITE, and not pride themselves on being an organization built around someone else's objectives and ideals.

Zetas, please excuse me for intruding on this thread....

blulady, you make it sound like the SLB's and SLG's stole from PBS and ZPB. To my knowledge, that's not the case.

I also recognize and respect that Zeta and Sigma share a bond that has been constitutionalized.

That said, what's the beef with unofficial relationships? History doesn't need a piece of paper to declare a relationship legitimate. Your Sorors and Frat who do happen to acknowledge a historical relationship are certainly not forgetting the "official" bond...it seems as like another extension of healthy greek relations, especially between two underserved communities.

Cornell University was the founding place of a Latino fraternity, Lambda Upsilon Lambda. I will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart for Lambdas....never above an Alpha of course, but I recognize what they went through as Latinos on a "white" college campus in 1982. I also know, through oral history, the supportive role we had in LUL's development. To top it all off, LUL's really were kind to me and took me under their wing when I was in undergrad. So I have a personal bond, through which I learned a historical bond.

What's wrong with that?

ETA: We don't call the LULs our "cousins" across the board, but those who know the connection respect it. Just an example.

Re: We do not have COUSINS
 

If you are not in support of this relationship with Betas and Gammas then that's your choice. It DOES NOT take anything away from the Blue and White Family. I am very sure that all Zetas are well aware of our history and would never disrespect our founders. End of discussion.

LUL is a great fraternity. I had the pleasure of meeting several of their national board members when they wanted to expand at my university.

You are FOREVER meeting all the cool people! I can't STAND you! lol :p

Yes, she does. Now, if she would pack me in her suitcase I could meet them as well. LOL.

I don't think the nature and purpose of my post is understood.

I never implied that Beta/Gamma stole from Blue and White.
I do believe that if it is true that a Sigma was involved in their creation, and that is the reason they have a special place in their hearts for Blue and White, that is a good thing. To say that Beta Gamma have a special relationship with Blue and White would be okay, However, it speaks volumes to refer us as "cousins". Particularly to an organization that already has a constitutional bond to another. When people insist that I do not know my own sorority's history because I do not know about this fraternity and sorority, it leads me to believe that there are others who truly believe and are convinced that Sigmas and Zetas have cousins whether we are all aware of it or not. If some in Blue and White choose to acknowledge them as our cousins, they impose this acknowledgement on all members of the Family because to an outsider, they believe that we should all be on the same page when it comes down to who we claim as family because it is something we pride ourselves on. Unlike other members of the D-9 they can pick and choose who they want to claim as family to some degree depending on where they are and what is accepted in that region. But Blue and White do not have that same liberty because we have so rigidly defined who is family and who is not. We are not about unofficial relationships, we never were. Our history supports this (those who know it). When we as organizations are ready to have "cousins" trust me, it will be addressed Nationally. Now I am all for greek unity, but each org. should know their place. This is where I'm coming from. Think outside the matrix for a hot minute.... just a hot minute, you don't have to agree, just understand it.

This situation is really not that deep. I'm not a Sigma so therefore I will not speak for them but as Zetas, no, we do not have a connection to Sigma Lambda Beta or Sigma Lambda Gamma for that matter. But, in some areas there is a close family like atmosphere that is beneficial to all parties in terms of support for events and programs. Where I'm from we don't have Betas or Gammas so we don't refer to them as our "cousins" but I'm not going to outright down others who may feel that connection. It doesn't take anything away from our beautiful foundation or the special and unique bond we have with Phi Beta Sigma.
Anyway, Soror we are trying to get to know everyone on this side of GC so could post your info in the new introductory thread that we started? :)

Would there be a problem if they were cousins?

Have any of y'all ever met one?

I always thought that we referred to SGRho's as our cousins from the fam I been around.

Imperial1

In my eyes, no. But that's a long discussion I will not have on this board.

I feel like I know just about every Beta and Gamma in Illinois and a few other places. I dated a Beta for a year.:p

Interesting. Never heard of that.

I've heard this before. Was going to mention it earlier.

I have heard of the connection
 

When I was in school, I knew this girl whose bf was in Phi Beta Sigma. They had a HUGE discussion who she should pledge. He was ok with her pledging SGrho because they were "cousins." I am not sure how true this is, but I have heard it before.

***above comments is from a non-greek.

What is a Phi Beta?