I should think that her attitude is one mirrored by a LOT of young women who have no experience with the "traditional" greek system other than what they see from the outside. She saw women who, like herself, were young, pretty, high achievers who came from middle class to upper-middle class surroundings. There is no other reason for a naive 17 year old girl to think that a sorority wouldn't be all over her if she thought she was just like the other women -- her race excepted.
She's 17. She's a child. She's naive. Cut her some slack. The larger issue is not what she said (one statement out of a whole article? C'mon people..), but that in the year 2001 the U of A system has not integrated.
I had a similar experience at GSU when I was an undergraduate student. I had lots of friends from high school who were white. When they went through sorority rush, I went through with them. I had higher grades, better service records, etc. than quite a few of my friends, yet they all got bids. One of the 'traditional' sororities invited me to the second round of their parties because they remembered my name, and remembered that I was nice, but couldn't remember what I looked like. When someone told them that I was black, they rescinded my invitation.
The argument made about reverse racism doesn't hold water. Generally if a white person joins a traditionally black sorority, it is because that person has the perception that NPHC organizations are more service oriented/businesslike and wants to associate with other like-minded individuals. While I'm not going to sit here and say that some folks in the NPHC have issue with integrating our organizations, most of the NPHC organizations adopted non-discrimination clauses back in the 1940s (Iota Phi Theta excepting, because they weren't founded until 1963). As a person who's seen the system from both sides, I can say that any non-black person wanting to join an NPHC organization may be regarded with suspicion, or as a novelty, but I can't think of an instance where they were flat-out denied membership because of their color. I can't think of an instance where a member of an NPHC organization would say something as inane as "If it came down to a vote to intergrate, I'd probably say no -- not because I'm not a racist, but because I don't want to take the first step."
What is at stake here is the same thing that is at stake when people talk about "others" moving into their neighborhoods and driving down their property values. I asked a (white) friend of mine why they didn't have any African American members of her sorority and she told me that it was because they were worried that their standing on campus would be diminished, and that they were worried that the (white) fraternities wouldn't want to 'swap' with them any longer.
Try to rationalize it all you want. Try to divert the attention away from the real issue by focusing on a poor choice of words made by a naive 17 year old girl. Most of us know what's going on. If you're willing to risk the history and continuation of your organization by keeping it melanin-free, then that's your choice. I just think it's beyond sad.
Quote:
Originally posted by 33girl:
Re Alabama, while I am not disregarding the racial factor, I'll tell you this much: I wouldn't give a bid to ANYONE who says things like "I expected sororities to jump all over me."
Confidence is one thing; arrogance is another.
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