Ethnic diversity: North vs. South

[LionTamer]

Someone posted a link to the list of girls who got bids at Auburn and one thing that stuck me immediately was the WASPyness of the last names - not very many "ethnic" names at an SEC rush.

My northern sorority had (and still has) girls with names that reveal LOTS of Irish, Italian and German backgrounds, plus Polish, Jewish, Czech, Japanese and a whole lot of different ancestries. The few with traditional "English" names were in the minority. I'm guessing the sorority list reflects the ethnic make-up of the school, but it was still a big surprise!

[NUBlue&Blue]

A lot of it is the history of the area. The South was settled by the English and the Scots, so most of the names are going to sound WASPy.

You get to the midwest and it was the second wave of immigration and you will see Polish, Irish, German, Czech, etc.

[shinerbock]

Many parts of the south are quite ethnically diverse. Auburn and other similar schools have less-than-diverse greek systems, however.

[minDyG]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Many parts of the south are quite ethnically diverse. Auburn and other similar schools have less-than-diverse greek systems, however.

Well I wouldn't necessarily say less-than-diverse Greek systems, just that the various conferences/councils/what-have-you within the systems tend to be relatively homogenous. For example, there are mostly white women and white men in the NPC and IFC sororities and fraternities at most SEC schools; however, there are plenty of ethnic sororities and fraternities as well including the NPHC organizations and other organizations that fall into the multicultural category (I can't remember the name of their association). I think that is a recurring problem throughout the South; while our population may be just as ethnically diverse as anywhere else in the States, we tend to self-segregate more than other areas due to centuries-old traditions that we never even consciously recognize.

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by minDyG

Well I wouldn't necessarily say less-than-diverse Greek systems, just that the various conferences/councils/what-have-you within the systems tend to be relatively homogenous. For example, there are mostly white women and white men in the NPC and IFC sororities and fraternities at most SEC schools; however, there are plenty of ethnic sororities and fraternities as well including the NPHC organizations and other organizations that fall into the multicultural category (I can't remember the name of their association). I think that is a recurring problem throughout the South; while our population may be just as ethnically diverse as anywhere else in the States, we tend to self-segregate more than other areas due to centuries-old traditions that we never even consciously recognize.

But what about diversity within so-called "white" ethnicities? The original poster stated that there were few non-"English" sounding last names....i.e. few names that sounded they were from "The Continent"

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

But what about diversity within so-called "white" ethnicities? The original poster stated that there were few non-"English" sounding last names....i.e. few names that sounded they were from "The Continent"

I'm guessing that most of the girls going through NPC rush are descendants of those first settlers, rather than those from other nationalities who came later. Not only that, I'm betting that if you were in an environment that was primarily English, you'd be more likely to Anglicize your name than someone who landed in, say, Pittsburgh or Chicago. Kendall Somers might really be Kimmy Sobieski.

[minDyG]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

But what about diversity within so-called "white" ethnicities? The original poster stated that there were few non-"English" sounding last names....i.e. few names that sounded they were from "The Continent"

Yeah I would just attribute that to the ancestry of the majority of the population here...there are certainly Italians, Poles, Germans, and Eastern European NPC sorority members in the mix but they're just not in the majority, same as the general population. I was addressing the point shinerbock was making in this quote.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by minDyG

Well I wouldn't necessarily say less-than-diverse Greek systems, just that the various conferences/councils/what-have-you within the systems tend to be relatively homogenous. For example, there are mostly white women and white men in the NPC and IFC sororities and fraternities at most SEC schools; however, there are plenty of ethnic sororities and fraternities as well including the NPHC organizations and other organizations that fall into the multicultural category (I can't remember the name of their association). I think that is a recurring problem throughout the South; while our population may be just as ethnically diverse as anywhere else in the States, we tend to self-segregate more than other areas due to centuries-old traditions that we never even consciously recognize.

Yep. And there's something a little sad about it, but it doesn't make it any less real or any less comfortable particularly for the members of minority groups who, after going almost all day as the sole member of their group, want to feel at home at least part of the day.

[UGAalum94]

You all talking about historic immigration patterns are kind of completely ignoring the entire Gulf Coast and Florida. While Florida might be culturally debatable, coastal Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are both southern and not-as-WASPy.

(But apparently not sending that many girls to Auburn.)

[KSUViolet06]

I went to the 2nd largest state school in OH, and yes, our NPC sororities are alot more diverse than what you'd find at the large southern state schools like UGA or LSU. All of the orgs have varying races and ethnicities represented.

[Taualumna]

Question: Are people in the south less likely to identify with their non-British Isles ancestry than people in other parts of the US? Or is it just immigration patterns?

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

Question: Are people in the south less likely to identify with their non-British Isles ancestry than people in other parts of the US? Or is it just immigration patterns?

I don't know about that. My Illinois-born grandfather's parents and older siblings came over on the boat from Germany - but my grandpa didn't have any spesific German customs or anything...I don't even think he knew more than 20 German words. Well, he probably did "back in the day", but his family assimilated quickly.

[VandalSquirrel]

I would think that the presence of HBCUs would affect statistical measurements at schools in the south. Out west (not on the coast) our system is sometimes as diverse as the local population, but many schools have thriving Latino Greek orgs. or MCGLOs.

As for names, my last name is Frisian technically, but was considered German when disembarking the boat (due to where the boat came from), and it is actually Dutch. I think we all know about the issues at Ellis island with the word Deutsch and Dutch. But that is all somewhat pointless, since it says WASP in the box that says "race or color" on my birth certificate (not making that up).

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I don't know about that. My Illinois-born grandfather's parents and older siblings came over on the boat from Germany - but my grandpa didn't have any spesific German customs or anything...I don't even think he knew more than 20 German words. Well, he probably did "back in the day", but his family assimilated quickly.

Was this around WWI? Lots of people of German descent hid their German-ness at that time. Here in Canada, the of Berlin, Ontario even changed its name to Kitchener.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

Question: Are people in the south less likely to identify with their non-British Isles ancestry than people in other parts of the US? Or is it just immigration patterns?

I'm not sure what you mean about it being "just immigration patterns." I know plenty of people in the South (and in my own family) that readily identify with (for example) German, French (especially Huguenot), Dutch, Italian and even Lebanese heritage. These backgrounds can be especially noticeable in matters of religion (wherever the Germans settled, for example, many old Lutheran churches will be found) and food.

But in so many instances, the families have been here for so long that they all converge in a generic European Southerness.