Finer Woman-
I think you're absolutely right, almost 100 posts is enough
!
Ok, here are my responses. I've been out of school (college) for a whole year now, but I'm still speaking mostly from an undergrad perspective (unless otherwise noted), as there isn't an alumni chapter in my area (another "little" project I'm currently undertaking!) to speak for.
And a note about my GLO... professional (arts) and service oriented, a member of PFA.. what you would may "white" (although it's not)
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What are you doing with you organizations or personally to eradicate racism?
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My chapter was diverse, especially in relationship to the school's demographics, so there was naturally more interest in diversity. (Not only black and white, but a few nationalities as well were represented). Our involvement in "World Week" stands out the most: this is an annual event every spring semester that celebrates all kinds of diversity on campus.
On a personal note, I agree with SigEpYoda.. it's all about the education. I spent a lot of time, particularly my first year and a half or so, at school talking with friends of different races (mostly black vs. white) about our experiences, backgrounds, misconceptions, preconceptions, and truths. It wasn't classroom education, but it was the kind where you really do learn, and learn to understand someone else's perception (even when you disagree). Although I do think that multi-cultural classes are good, too. Face it, some people just need that push to really think about race, ethnicity, and America.
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What political agenda would you like to address to put an end or institutionall arrest the hate?
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I think this is the hardest part. For example, affirmative action. It's kind of a necessary evil. I mean, here we are in "the land of the free", and we have to institute
laws so certain people get treated like human beings? It's so sad, really.
You know, I'm a self-professed feminist (among other things), and the ERA never did get passed. It's so basic, simply stating that women should be treated equal to man. Yet politicians, religious leaders, and even some women fought to prevent it from becoming law. If I were going to pick
one thing to be a "political agenda", it would be a version of this. The ERA, only not just for women, but for
all minorities. (Ha- actually women make up about 53% of the U.S., so I guess they're not technically a minority any more
) And it wouldn't be complex, simply an addition to the laws of the land that people recognize each other as such.
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What would you like to see done on campuses and in your community to address this ill?
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Campus: There was definately a problem on my campus. It was like deliberate segregation. On both sides, but mostly from the black side. This always bothered me. I had a few very good friends who happened to be black (some of these people are still good friends, btw). I didn't think much of it until about 1/2 way through my freshman year. I started noticing that other black students were disrespecting my friends
because they had white friends (such as myself). I slowly found many of these friends drifting away, until most became merely acquaintances. It became almost as if there were the black students and the white students. And if you were a black student who spent too much time with the white students, then you couldn't be "down" with the black students anymore. So I would like to see more open-mindedness from
everyone.
On campus from a greek perspective: I would have liked to see a lot more collaborations between NPHC GLO's and the "rest" of us. We rarely did anything together. The BGLO's had their letters on a Greek Week T-shirts my senior year, and I was geeked about that. But none of them participated. Part of the problem was due to the different organizational structures of the NPHC GLO's vs. the PFA GLO's vs. the local GLO's. But I really think that most (if not all) of us would have been happy to work past these differences. I think had we (BGLO's and GLO's) showed a more united greek community, the rest of campus would have followed, or at least been more accepting.
(Oh- FYI, I refer to the students as "black" because not all of them were/are American and/or African, making the term African-American incorrect for several).
In my community: My apartment complex is pretty diverse. Mostly African-Americans, a nubmer of Hispanics (mostly Mexican), and a smattering of us white folk
And it stays pretty divided, even though we're all neighbors. I have one neighbor who just "looks" black, but is actually 1/2 Spanish (and speaks spanish!). (He's an alum of a Latino interest GLO.. I
think Alpha Psi Lambda). He is cool with everyone. But that's about it, other than that we all just say "hey" as we walk past each other. I'd simply like to see more friendly interaction between all of us.
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... if we share our ideas, perhaps we can gain a greater understanding of how to get along better.
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I think this is the most intelligent thing anyone has said and could say on this matter.
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SilverTurtle@greekchat.com
Phi Beta Fraternity
Phi chapter
Eradicating Racism...solutions
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