[RACooper]

I can’t speak to it personally but I can understand what Sistermadly and Jill1228 were speaking of…

One of my good friends in the chapter received a lot of grief from his close circle of friends and peers back home because he joined Lambda Chi Alpha when a HBGLO was on campus (Alpha Phi Alpha). There was an expectation that if he went Greek his only choice should have been a HBGLO… because he didn’t make the expected (or in the case of some of his peers – mandated) choice he was marginalized by the guys he grew up with.

While he has always stated that he made the right choice for him – he still feels the pain of being “marginalized” or seen as somehow diminished in the eyes of his childhood peers and friends – because he didn’t follow through with the expectations for him to “be or act black” (his term not mine).

I spent many a night just chilling and talking things through with him… trying to make him realize that he shouldn’t have to prove himself or justify his decision to the boys back home – but instead be proud of who he is and what he is accomplishing.