[tld221]

in taking Sexy Mocha's line: "Never apologize for expressing your feelings. When you do so, you apologize for the truth."
additionally, writers (anyone, really) shouldnt give their opinions a disclaimer, but here goes.

with all the joking and questioning coming from greek org members about OEPi's origins, signs, line names, etc, some of it is blatantly copying other orgs. but honestly, can you ever be original? this is how all the great greek orgs camt to exist: the first NPC org was copied by the second, the seconf by the third. even the founders of AKA had to copy the model of the sorority to SOME extent to even start an org (regardless of how different NPHC and NPC are in tradition), and then the other 2 BGL sororities followed suit in some form or fashion.

original? not really. unique by their colors, signs, symbols, philantrophies, programs, etc? yes, up to a point. would it be different if OEPi used an NPC model vs an NPHC model? what about LGLOs? everyone needs to build something on a model of something else. couldnt invent a cell phone if there wasnt a landline phone, nor a CD player without a record player, or whichever analogy you want to conjure up.

its hard enough for these women to be who they are and to be accepted in their society, as black lesbians, just as black women in college during the early 1900s were not accepted as well in their respective societies (as a black person, as a female, as a collegian).

so while those of you who are laughing and what not about OEPi's wannabe Delta pyramid or Ivy Stance, lets flip it: dont you think there were white sorority women (as well as white men of fraternities) who were doing the same thing when BGLOs were being founded? i wouldnt be surprised.

while these women didnt have any rights to the answers they may have questioned to your respective founders, in a way they still had to prove themselves as a legitimate organization (not just to them, but to anyone who was watching), which, through time, they have done a great job in doing so.

it comes down to "are they for real?" as one poster put it, which i guess would be an initial response, but i could easliy assume that NPC org members, when BGLOs were being founded, were askng the same things at their meetings and such. OEPi needs the same time to prove their legitimacy. They wanna have liquor bottles on their website? not cool if a potential member was looking for a SERIOUS black lesbian greek orgainzation. my biggest problems are 1. that they dont require you to be in college. but if they DID require that, would that be copying? 2. theres a separation between the "femme" lesbians and "butch" lesbians. so much for unity withing the black lesbian community.

i know, i know. "well youre not part of a greek org, so you wouldnt understand..." or "black women didnt choose to be black women/homosexuals chose to be homosexuals... they bring their issues on themselves" but everyone needs somewhere to feel like the belong. if a potential woman wants to join OEPi, and she feels like that should be her home, why question their motives? to each their own.

so like i said, OEPi needs to legitimatize themselves...get their exectutive board positions filled, make sure their retreat functions arent associated with drinking, get some more chapters, members, national programs, and eventually recognized by a GLO council (which i dont see happening b/c of the way the world works)...

overall represent themselves in a legitimate manner, and the only way for them to do this, in the eyes of GLO members and non-members alike, is to copy in one way or another.