[valpogal99]

While I understand the mother's desire for her son to carry on her tradition (after all, don't we all hope our children will do the same), I find it sad that people you love will put pressure on you to make "their" decision. I have had the opportunity to witness a similar situation within our sorority. We had a lady accept a bid to our sorority but asked that we keep it quiet until she had a chance to share the news with her friends. None of us thought anything about it until we had our first letter day on Monday (bids were accepted Friday morning). She was hesitant to wear her letters and didn't want to go out on campus that much. Later that night she shared her story with the chapter. She was the first in her group to join a "white fraternity" and she was being pressured because her friends wanted her to join a traditionally black sorority. She was up-front with us and them that she felt more a part of the sisterhood with ADPi even though some of her best friends were part of the other group. Most of the members of the other organization stopped speaking with her. A few remained her friends and tried to support her (in private) with her decision. Several members of the other group did their best to show EVERYONE their displeasure in her decision. She had nasty phone calls, notes, and even public threats when they would see her. It was a really hard time for her and caused her a lot of pain, so much so that she ended up transferring. To her, the sorority was important in her life and nothing could be done to change that. She remained with the chapter through initiation and transferred the following semester, thus taking Alumna status. She still keeps in touch with the chapter and the local Alumnae organization and swears it was the best thing she could have done because she knows who her true friends are (regardless of race).

Again, I understand expressing a desire for someone to join specific organizations, I do not understand why people would be so mean at someone who REALLY wants to step outside those lines. This lady is a GREAT person and an awesome asset to ADPi. She remains active as an Alumna and embodies the beliefs of the sisterhood. Why anyone would want to take that away from someone is beyond me. She has gone on to talk to a lot of chapters about race issues and race relations and has been a driving force in uniting organizations on several local campuses. She has been instrumental in getting organizations to work together for the common good of the community regardless of the letters on their shirts and/or the color of their skin. She, in my opinion, is what the Greek system is all about.