This may be a stupid question...

[kayfaith]

Okay first of all, hi GreekChat!

I just started my sophomore year this summer semester. Between high school and college I took a year off (if anyone wants to know why I don't have a problem with sharing, but yeah) so I'm 20. After this year I'll be able to transfer from my small college with no greek life to a bigger university with strong greek involvement. Being in a sorority is something I've wanted since middle school. Now that I'm facing transfer application deadlines, this whole process has me kind of freaked.

When I transfer schools, I realize that it won't be easy no matter how I get involved. The thing that has been worrying me lately (and like I said, this will probably sound so stupid) is if my race will be an issue? My mom is black and my dad is white. The only people in my family that went greek are divine 9 (so on my mom's side) members. My dad's family all seem to think that being in a sorority would be stupid etc.

Since I'll be a transfer student, I really want my two years to count. I'm looking at Big 10 and Southern schools, and a few Cali ones as well. Panhels always seem to be so involved on campus, and that's really important to me! I want to have at least a few girls that feel like sisters/friends for life. And I want to be social!

Do any of you all think that me being two races is going to be a problem? I have friends of all races, and I swear this has never been something that's worried me until now. I'm really hoping the people in my family that are against me going through formal recruitment are just biased and uninformed. Other than being 21 when I go through the process, I'd like to think that everything else about me will be normal! My GPA should be between a 3.67-3.8 when I transfer, and I'm definitely not going to a school with a preference for one sorority over another or anything like that.

Wow, okay, if you read all of this then thanks!

[UVA17]

Kayfaith, my mom is black and my dad is white and I'm planning to go through recruitment at a southern school as well. My mom is a member of a D9 sorority but really steered me toward NPC because of the hazing. Plus I like the fact that most of the panhellenic sororities have been around longer; so much tradition.

Like me, you probably learned to act one way around your white friends and family and another way around your black friends and family. We're chameleons, right? lol Depending on how I wear my makeup and hair and how I dress, I look like either a black girl without a decent bootie and good hair or a white girl with a dark tan so naturally I'll emphasize the latter aspect of how I look. I don't feel that I'm turning my back on my heritage because I'm 1/2 of each.

The bottom line is, if you feel comfortable with yourself the girls you meet during rush will pick up on that. So just be yourself, of whichever version of yourself you feel like being that day and have a good time

[Old_Row]

Originally Posted by UVA17

Kayfaith, my mom is black and my dad is white and I'm planning to go through recruitment at a southern school as well. My mom is a member of a D9 sorority but really steered me toward NPC because of the hazing. Plus I like the fact that most of the panhellenic sororities have been around longer; so much tradition.

Like me, you probably learned to act one way around your white friends and family and another way around your black friends and family. We're chameleons, right? lol Depending on how I wear my makeup and hair and how I dress, I look like either a black girl without a decent bootie and good hair or a white girl with a dark tan so naturally I'll emphasize the latter aspect of how I look. I don't feel that I'm turning my back on my heritage because I'm 1/2 of each.

The bottom line is, if you feel comfortable with yourself the girls you meet during rush will pick up on that. So just be yourself, of whichever version of yourself you feel like being that day and have a good time

Interesting.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by UVA17

My mom is a member of a D9 sorority but really steered me toward NPC because of the hazing. Plus I like the fact that most of the panhellenic sororities have been around longer; so much tradition.

Depending on how I wear my makeup and hair and how I dress, I look like either a black girl without a decent bootie and good hair or a white girl with a dark tan so naturally I'll emphasize the latter aspect of how I look.

First point is interesting to me as well. I hope mom doesn't think that hazing happens less in one over the other (I have no evidence either way, but there are less NPHC orgs than NPC/IFC. Way less. A hazing story from a D9 org making national news will stick out more than another org. Some orgs have better PR is all I'm saying).

As for your second point, are you suggesting original poster present herself as more white than black at rush, re clothing/hair?

[UVA17]

Originally Posted by tld221

As for your second point, are you suggesting original poster present herself as more white than black at rush, re clothing/hair?

I'm saying she should act whichever way makes her feel most comfortable among the people she's meeting.

As far as "acting black" or "acting white", it's not really acting at all if someone actually is black and white. Just call me pepe le peu

[kayfaith]

That sounds like a great suggestion, DubaiSis! One (big 10) school that I keep coming back to as I list and relist seems like it might fall in that category so yay, potential.

UVA17 "pepe le peu"

EDIT: Would a school that re/colonized the year before fall under this category too? Or would there be no need to possibly balance after one year?

[DubaiSis]

Originally Posted by kayfaith

EDIT: Would a school that re/colonized the year before fall under this category too? Or would there be no need to possibly balance after one year?

I couldn't say for sure, but I think that a very new chapter would be more open to older students than a very well established chapter would. Just to sort of put it in a nutshell, you don't want all of your members to graduate at the same time or you'll have trouble developing stability (socially and financially). So ideally, you'd pledge 25% freshmen, 25% sophomores, 25% juniors and 25% seniors. In reality it never happens this way. A colony would never announce their exact ratios (company secrets you might say), so it probably ends up 50% freshmen, 25% sophomores and 25% juniors and seniors, or maybe even more skewed than that. So if they colonized last year and you would have been a sophomore last year, you're in better shape than if you were a freshman last year. 2-3 years of treating a new chapter with kid gloves and lots of oversight is pretty common, especially for the very large chapters.

I think it's also fair to say that a colony puts even more emphasis on leadership than an established chapter because it's even more important to squeeze every bit of potential out of every last member. You can't coast or rest on your laurels until you have laurels to rest on.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by UVA17

I'm saying she should act whichever way makes her feel most comfortable among the people she's meeting.

As far as "acting black" or "acting white", it's not really acting at all if someone actually is black and white. Just call me pepe le peu

I don't want to completely derail this thread, but you saying all of this:

Originally Posted by UVA17

Like me, you probably learned to act one way around your white friends and family and another way around your black friends and family. We're chameleons, right? lol Depending on how I wear my makeup and hair and how I dress, I look like either a black girl without a decent bootie and good hair or a white girl with a dark tan so naturally I'll emphasize the latter aspect of how I look. I don't feel that I'm turning my back on my heritage because I'm 1/2 of each.

The bottom line is, if you feel comfortable with yourself the girls you meet during rush will pick up on that. So just be yourself, of whichever version of yourself you feel like being that day and have a good time

.. makes it sound like she should "act more white" because the majority of NPC members are white. And what "acting white" or "acting black" means, I don't know.

She should just be herself. The end.

[AGDee]

kayfaith- Your age and Junior status is more likely to be an issue at some of the types of schools you mention- not all of them, but at some of them. The Big 10, for example, varies a lot that way. It depends more on the school.

[Katmandu]

I see women of all shades, backgrounds and looks in my sorority magazine. Age may be a factor, race prob not, at least in most schools. So many people have a wonderfully diverse heritage today.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by kayfaith

Okay first of all, hi GreekChat!

I just started my sophomore year this summer semester. Between high school and college I took a year off (if anyone wants to know why I don't have a problem with sharing, but yeah) so I'm 20. After this year I'll be able to transfer from my small college with no greek life to a bigger university with strong greek involvement. Being in a sorority is something I've wanted since middle school. Now that I'm facing transfer application deadlines, this whole process has me kind of freaked.

When I transfer schools, I realize that it won't be easy no matter how I get involved. The thing that has been worrying me lately (and like I said, this will probably sound so stupid) is if my race will be an issue? My mom is black and my dad is white. The only people in my family that went greek are divine 9 (so on my mom's side) members. My dad's family all seem to think that being in a sorority would be stupid etc.

Since I'll be a transfer student, I really want my two years to count. I'm looking at Big 10 and Southern schools, and a few Cali ones as well. Panhels always seem to be so involved on campus, and that's really important to me! I want to have at least a few girls that feel like sisters/friends for life. And I want to be social!

Do any of you all think that me being two races is going to be a problem? I have friends of all races, and I swear this has never been something that's worried me until now. I'm really hoping the people in my family that are against me going through formal recruitment are just biased and uninformed. Other than being 21 when I go through the process, I'd like to think that everything else about me will be normal! My GPA should be between a 3.67-3.8 when I transfer, and I'm definitely not going to a school with a preference for one sorority over another or anything like that.

Wow, okay, if you read all of this then thanks!

My exposure to GLOs is limited pretty much to schools in Ilinois and Missouri, so I'll speak to what I know. I can't imagine being biracial as a problem at any school here. All of the KD chapters I've been involved with or met have initiates who are not white.

And if it is a problem, you don't want to join those groups anyway. They're assholes and racists and don't deserve you.

That said, don't be surprised if some of your white chapter sisters are pretty sheltered about race. There was a ton of stuff that I didn't know when I was 18.

[Missouri Ivy]

At the campus I attended and the larger school in my area, I don't believe race would be an issue. As AGDee already mentioned, your age might affect your invites. At my school, we always had some juniors go through. Like most other PNMs at my school, they usually got bids. At the other school, they take mostly freshman. I'd keep up with your grades, and use this year to get involved in service and leadership. Show that with your two years remaining you will be a member who brings a lot to the organization.

[tld221]

Because I was interested, fun fact: 21/26 NPC sororities were founded in the 1800s. However, seeing as 6/9 D9 orgs are 100+ years (I threw in PBS as they're approaching centennial), that's enough time to have rich history and traditions to rival (sorry, can't think of a better word) that of NPC.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by tld221

Because I was interested, fun fact: 21/26 NPC sororities were founded in the 1800s. However, seeing as 6/9 D9 orgs are 100+ years (I threw in PBS as they're approaching centennial), that's enough time to have rich history and traditions to rival (sorry, can't think of a better word) that of NPC.

I picked up on that, too. Every group in the D9 and NPC has a rich tradition and history. If you plan on sitting down and memorizing what happened every single year the organization has been in existence, some groups may have an edge, but there isn't a group around that doesn't have tradition and history.

[TNAuburnMom]

Race will be more of an issue at some southern schools than others. There are young women of many different races at a few sororities in Auburn. Regardless, I would never recommend trying to "act more white" whatever that means. You want a place where you are accepted for who you are and where you feel comfortable being yourself.