Racism felt among Greeks

[preciousjeni]

An interesting article came out of a New York university regarding racial tensions on campus.

Racism felt among Greeks
http://www.cardinalpointsonline.com/...eeks-1.2111996

The part that really caught my attention follows:

Johnson was not satisfied after approaching Allison Swick-Duttine, director of fraternity and sorority life, about the incident at Hawkins Pond.

“I brought it up to Allison, and I think she sort of put it under the table,” Johnson said. “This time, I don’t want it to be put under the table.”

Swick-Duttine said she contacted the president of the fraternity after the incident, and he apologized to Johnson. She thought the issue has been resolved.

From the looks of it, the student sees the issue as campus-wide racial tensions that need a more direct approach toward resolution. Whereas, the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life views the situation as an interpersonal conflict between the student and other members of the Greek community that has been resolved with an apology.

I found this article interesting in particular because I don't often see articles of this nature published in school newspapers. Of course, we talk about issues like these on Greek Chat and discussions are on-going all over the place, but how often do rational pieces like this get published?

In that respect, it's pretty cool.

[deepimpact2]

I guess . . .

Maybe I'm just tired, but the article just seemed to be all over the place.

[Senusret I]

I really liked the article -- this is the first time I've seen a student newspaper not only tackle the issue thoughtfully, but REALLY getting more than a few sources to comment.

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by deepimpact2

I guess . . .

Maybe I'm just tired, but the article just seemed to be all over the place.

I agree--all over the place.

And side bar question, but when did OPB become a "multi-cultural" sorority, or does it vary from campus to campus?

[33girl]

^^I know I LOLed at Phi Mu Delta being "the black fraternity." Most of the schools they're at don't exactly have a ton of black people.

Sorry if I sound like a dolt, but this line

Since she joined the Greek community, she has been racially targeted twice by members of other organizations, she said.

makes no sense to me. It's like they're blaming her going Greek for the slurs. Unless she had letters on at the bar, which I doubt, I don't think the yukky alum knew if she was Greek, GDI or townie.

[Ch2tf]

Originally Posted by 33girl

^^I know I LOLed at Phi Mu Delta being "the black fraternity." Most of the schools they're at don't exactly have a ton of black people.

Sorry if I sound like a dolt, but this line makes no sense to me. It's like they're blaming her going Greek for the slurs. Unless she had letters on at the bar, which I doubt, I don't think the yukky alum knew if she was Greek, GDI or townie.

I didn't read it that way at all. It came across to me as since she's gone Greek she has had these incidents with other "Greeks". They probably stand more because they are Greek either because they were wearing letters during the incidences/she is familiar with them because of these ISA/org meetings.

[dreamseeker]

Originally Posted by Ch2tf

I didn't read it that way at all. It came across to me as since she's gone Greek she has had these incidents with other "Greeks". They probably stand more because they are Greek either because they were wearing letters during the incidences/she is familiar with them because of these ISA/org meetings.

yep, and then there's also the fact that their voices aren't being heard during meetings, AND they had standards that prevented them from being 5-star orgs.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Sorry if I sound like a dolt, but this line makes no sense to me. It's like they're blaming her going Greek for the slurs. Unless she had letters on at the bar, which I doubt, I don't think the yukky alum knew if she was Greek, GDI or townie.

Yeah I think that was one thing that was confusing to me. Some of the incident that have been written about in that article don't seem to really show racism among greeks. It just shows a few racist individuals who just happen to be members of greek orgs. When I think of racism among greeks I think about incidents involving membership or even some of the incidents that took place like the one at Auburn some years ago.

[Ch2tf]

To my knowledge OPB isn't a multicultural organization. But ya know how sometimes chapters (and individuals) speak out of turn/inappropriately.

I'm not familiar with Platsburg, but my guess is there may be some sort of multicultural Greek council on campus, and all organizations housed under it are considered "multi-cultural" organizations. This bothers me to all end!

Based on the article comments made from both sides of the line on the website, it seems like many people on campus, Greeks no less, don't really have a solid understanding of GL beyond their personal experiences.