Scott,
You are echoing those same ignorant responses we received when we began the groundwork for establishing the Black Greek Council. Before educating you, let me first ask you-- How much do you REALLY know about BGLOs and how/why they differ?!?!?!?
At my university, all fraternities and sororities were governed by IFC and PanHell, who received annual budgets of $8,000 and $6,000 respectively (I attended a very small school with 2,000 students). Those funds were distributed to GLOs based on membership size to fund Rush and GreekWeek activities. I trust that, being a member of the greek community, you know that the membership intake processes for BGLOs are very DIFFERENT (yes, I said "different") than the intake processes for traditionally/predominantly white fraternities and sororities. Our process is much like a college application process, and what we call "rush" is, at most, a 2 to 3-hour informational for interested individuals to receive necessary info in order to pursue membership. See, we don't do bids and have our prospects visit houses-- our prospects seek and pursue only ONE sorority or frat based on the research they've done prior to the rush/informational. So, by coming to the rush, they are announcing, publically, that they want to join our organization. There is no party, no booze, no socializing-- we use the rush as a means of outling the criteria for membership, anti-hazing policies and giving deadlines for the application process.
SO... with this in mind, and because our organizations tend to be quite small in number (it is not uncommon for a BGLO to have only 1 or 2 members in a given year), the IFC and PanHell on my campus was not giving us ANY of the money that was to be distributed among all organizations. And, although we voiced our complaints on many occasions, the answer we were consistantly given was that because we didn't participate in the kind of rush activities the white GLOs did, we could not get the money, since the money was alloted only for that purpose.
When it came time for GreekWeek, we faced the same issues. The money for GreekWeek was to support the many social functions the white GLOs sponsored, at which alcohol was allowed. As a part of our strict protocol and traditions, collegiate BGLOs are NOT to sponsor events at which alcohol is served. So, because of the nature of many of the Greek Week activites, we (the BGLOs) had no other choice but to decline from participating because we were never able to get funding from IFC and PanHell for the kinds of activities we wanted to sponsor.
BGLOs are community service oriented, with social life being LAST on the "to do" list. Social life was first on that list at MY school, and IFC and PanHell, since they consisted of 98% members of white GLOs refused to recognize that DIFFERENCE. So, we petitioned to established our own governing body for fiscal and political reasons, and NOT because we were black!!! This was a business decision-- we weren't getting any money because we didn't do the same things the other groups were doing.
You, Scott, have a lot to learn about what it means to be DIFFERENT. I am so sick and tired of people refusing to recognize that if a white person and a black person stand side by side, they are still DIFFERENT no matter how you look at them. BGLOs are predominately black and are committed to service to and uplift of African American people. If your organization does not share those characteristics then we are DIFFERENT. You are acting as though there is something wrong with being different. You jumped to the conclusion that we broke away from IFC and PanHell because we were black, when that was simply not the case. With a Black Greek Council, we received a budget of $6000 and were able to do much more. We finally had a representative in our student government (we NEVER had that as a part of IFC and PanHell), and were able to fund many more community service projects than ever before. In addition, we could now participate in Greek Week because we had our own budget. We were also able to co-sponsor activities with other GLOs and student organizations-- we could never do that before because we couldn't get the money. We could invite speakers and attend greek leadership conferences all over the world.
The only way we could get the approval for the establishment was to have the support of IFC and PanHell. They (along with Order of Omega) backed us 100% because they understood that we were not able to get funding because of the DIFFERENCES between the intakes processes, focus, protocol and traditions of our organizations!!!
I was in a conversation the other day, and a white male told me that he is colorblind (doesn't see race). I think anyone who is colorblind is racist because as a black female, when you see me I DO want you to see African American. That is a part of who I am, and to not see it is to not see me. The fact is that BGLOs are indeed different-- not just in the demographics of members, but in many other ways. Just because you choose to get a brand doesn't mean that it is for the same reason that a black member of Omega Psi Phi or Alpha Phi Alpha chooses to get one. He might really be doing it for cultural reasons, while you may not.
I do not appreciate how you've associated our establishment of a black greek council with racism. If a white GLO decided to do the same, for the reasons we did, then I would be in support just as IFC, PanHell and Order of Omega were of our initiative. There was never any "squabbling over petty differences" and I am offended that you consider the differences and uniqueness of BGLOs to be "petty". You, sir, and those who share your sentiments, are the the reason racism is still a disease in this country-- you haven't bothered to seek the understaning you need in order to RECOGNIZE and APPRECIATE the value of our DIFFERENCES!!! You are content to watch everyone assilimilate to the popular culture, while I am content to cherish all those varying and contrasting attributes that make us a diverse people. I have MANY, MANY friends in white GLOs, and I ENJOY learning more about them and what makes one DIFFERENT from the other. Surely you don't think Fiji is the same as Sig-Ep is the same as Beta is the same as Delta Chi DO YOU?!?!?!? They are each very DIFFERENT, just as Tri Delt DIFFERS from A Chi O DIFFERS from Pi Phi! FACE IT--Black Greek-Lettered Organizations DIFFER from white GLOs!!! That does NOT mean we are perpetuating racism or segregation-- that simply means that we are NOT THE SAME. You seem to be the one who thinks that there is something wrong with being DIFFERENT!!!
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Pi Kappa
#3 SPR97
QUINTESSENCE
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