[UGAalum94]

Elephant Walk and Shinerbock are saying out loud several of the "reasons" that good, smart, otherwise-not-racist members of GLOs at most of the SEC schools don't integrate their chapters.

The most elitist groups and group members end up controlling the racial attitudes in the system because other groups aren't brave enough to risk integrating since the "top" chapters aren't integrated. Any group wanted to improve its rank in the tiers has a hard time taking any risks.

Personally, I’d love to see a top chapter prove exactly how much of a top group it is by pledging some of the of the kids who happen to be Black but who also went to the same high schools, have professional parents, hold high educational goals and achievements, and who enjoy having white friends. At the big southern schools there are many Black students who fit that description, but they need to be actively recruited to go through rush. They’ve seen the system in action and have no reason to sign up for rush on their own.

One thing I want to throw out into the debate on race and class is that there are a lot of white people who aren't invited to join the most exclusive clubs and groups. Being white, even if you aren't trashy or redneck, in itself doesn't get one all of the perks. You might be less likely to get hassled by the cops if you are white, but being white alone doesn’t get you an invitation to join the country club or SAE.

So what I’m asking, I guess, is that the non-white members of the board don’t generalize too much about the benefits of white privilege. Some of us whities don't benefit that much from being white, and some of the activities that are undertaken to open things up or diversify, end up affecting non-elite, not-well-connected whites more than they break down the power of the elites.