Originally posted by kddani
1) Does being in a BGLO every hurt you? By that I mean facing the stereotypes, etc.
It has never hurt me. I have had nothing but TONS of positive experiences. Stereotypes will always be there. Sometimes being a black person in college is enough to make someone stereotype you. I would rather have a positive stereotype than a negative one. If being apart of a positive organization gets me stereotyped, then I probably want those stereotypes.
2) What if BGLO are not very active on a campus? On my campus, which is large, urban, and about 9% African American, neither of the BGLO sorors has more than 10 people.
We tend to focus on the communities that need our attention. I am not saying that the college community is unimportant, but we have a greater mission. Those organizations may be doing so many off campus projects that they may not have time to have parties, bake sales, etc. My chapter had 8 members when we won Fraternity/Sorority of the Year award at my University. Some organizations on campus with double that membership hadn't done half as many events as we did. On or off campus.
3) What is an average chapter size? Maybe i'm all wrong in thinking 10 members is small. That's just what i've seen.
For undergraduate chapters, it depends on the schools location. In Southern schools, some have chapters with over 100 members. I go to school in the North East (NYC) and the NPHC chapters tend to be small but powerful. We all know each other for the most part (neighboring schools/workplaces/events). It comes down to who is qualified and who is not. My school has a problem with that. Low membership sometimes says to an outsider or non-NPHC greek that there is no interest in an organization. What they may fail to realize is that 300 people may show up at a Rush but only 2 may be qualified. You can only play with the cards that you are dealt, if you know what I mean. 