Impressions of SAE and frats in general

[kslay88]

Hey guys, I recently got initiated into SAE at my chapter and love it.
For me it was SAE or nothing. I love my brothers and our guidelines that we follow.

One thing I was wondering was about diversity in our chapter and race in general with fraternities.

I'm Indian (from india not native american) and in a mostly white frat and in a white college. There was one indian dude before me and a few black brothers.

What attracted me to SAE was the principles its founded on and the awesome brothers. Some greek members of "ethnic" fratnernities tried to get me to join their frats, but I thought to myself, "Why would a join a black, hispanic, or even asian frat?"

Isn't the point of frats to bring together quality men regardless of things such as race?

[CBU Jeff]

Diversity would depend on the area. From my experience, the Southern chapters tend to be more traditional (white), but that is not always the case for all of the brothers. Usually chapters get more diverse as you travel north and west (but that is just a guess)

[SAEalumnus]

Originally Posted by Pledgetrainer

Most chapters are traditionally white, for better or for worse...SAE was started in the Deep South you know. And a little tip for your SAE career: it's a fraternity, not a frat...just a sign of respect for your brotherhood.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by CBU Jeff

Diversity would depend on the area. From my experience, the Southern chapters tend to be more traditional (white), but that is not always the case for all of the brothers. Usually chapters get more diverse as you travel north and west (but that is just a guess)

You're probably correct with this. I haven't been to any of the southern chapters, but I've met plenty of those brothers at leadership school the couple of times I went. The further away from the deep south you get, the more diverse the chapters are likely to get, though I wouldn't claim that to be an absolute rule.

[CBU Jeff]

"What attracted me to SAE was the principles its founded on and the awesome brothers. Some greek members of "ethnic" fratnernities tried to get me to join their frats, but I thought to myself, "Why would a join a black, hispanic, or even asian frat?"

Isn't the point of frats to bring together quality men regardless of things such as race?[/quote]



In the grand scheme of things, the point of fraternities is to bring together a group of men, from various situations, for a common cause. In saying that, depending on the culture of the college and of the specific chapter, recruitment may not bring about a diverse group. (and depending on the chapter, possibly not a quality group either lol).

But, the great thing about joining a fraternity, and SAE, is the difference one person can make. If you want to see your chapter get more diverse, start recruiting more diverse people.

[SAE-Solider]

I am Korean, and I am an SAE at Central Michigan. I know what you mean, when you say what's the point of joining some mult. cult fraternity, because for me joining an asian fraternity would just mean hanging out with kids from high school.

my fraternity is mostly whites, but we got couple black kids and so on.

PA

[HawaiiTKE]

I agree with the diversity that each fraternity should have. But in college there are not a lot of minority students, and I think it just creates a bond amongst possible social outcasts (as in they stand out because they are not white which is the predominant race in colleges today). Maybe they don't feel like they fit in? I don't know. Just my two cents though. Lol.

[SAEalumnus]

Originally Posted by HawaiiTKE

I agree with the diversity that each fraternity should have. But in college there are not a lot of minority students, and I think it just creates a bond amongst possible social outcasts (as in they stand out because they are not white which is the predominant race in colleges today). Maybe they don't feel like they fit in? I don't know. Just my two cents though. Lol.

In the interest of a counter-example, these are the enrollment statistics for the university I've most recently attended:

African American: 4.46%
Asian American: 22.13%
Caucasian: 27.39%
Latino/Latina: 29.57%
Native American: 1.04%
Other/Unknown: 10.52%
Visa non-U.S. citizen: 4.89%

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by SAEalumnus

In the interest of a counter-example, these are the enrollment statistics for the university I've most recently attended:

African American: 4.46%
Asian American: 22.13%
Caucasian: 27.39%
Latino/Latina: 29.57%
Native American: 1.04%
Other/Unknown: 10.52%
Visa non-U.S. citizen: 4.89%

I do not know the purpose of a counter-example but the university you recently attended represents a very small percentage of colleges and universities in North America.

The average racial and ethnic minority in North America who attends college is attending a college or university in which they are a minority in both population size and power.

Even with your counter-example African American students (and Native American students) probably formed or are interested in forming a BSU or some equivalent. And it is important to note that higher enrollment statistics for some racial and ethnic minorities does not mean that racial and ethnic minorities are in positions of power at the college or university. You can have a lot of nonwhite students but they may rarely have nonwhite professors and higher ranking staff and administrators.

[XEbabypanda]

hawaiitke, the fact that you just called minority students social outcasts is absolutely 110% absurd. my sorority is very ethnically diverse, and we pride ourselves on that. and i'm fairly certain that they didn't go greek to avoid becoming "social outcasts". in fact, i'm sure no minority student thinks that when going through recruitment. i'm white, but even i'm personally offended by that statement.

in response to the point of the thread... every chapter has their stereotypes, but in terms of ethnic diversity, everyone is pretty diverse here! my college as a whole really prides itself on diversity and embracing the differences between you and another student.... we like diversity here at ohio state

[DrPhil]

What's worse is you thinking you can speak for minority students

Originally Posted by XEbabypanda

in fact, i'm sure no minority student thinks that when going through recruitment.

You don't know what anyone besides you is thinking, let alone minority students. Don't try to speak for minority students. Some minority students across institutions feel like social outcasts and express those feelings around those they feel comfortable talking to (hint, they wouldn't necessarily share this information with most white people).

I agree with HawaiiTKE.

As for the diversity at your school, maybe and maybe not. In general, white people tend to express a different opinion of diversity and assume that "diversity efforts" (whatever that means) are much more successful than they are just because there's a diversity logo somewhere and there are a few more brown people here and there. Don't fret, that isn't just about white people. That's typical of majority-minority relations.

[als463]

Isn't SAE a Jewish fraternity? I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I was just wondering.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by als463

Isn't SAE a Jewish fraternity? I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I was just wondering.

SAM (Sigma Alpha Mu) is historicalaly Jewish, but initiates members of all religions.

[als463]

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

SAM (Sigma Alpha Mu) is historicalaly Jewish, but initiates members of all religions.

Yeah, I knew Sammy was but (for some reason) I always thought SAE was, too. Thanks for pointing that out. I guess I was wrong, this entire time..lol

[Benzgirl]

crashing.

I have posted this link before. It is an excerpt out of "Going Greek: Jewish College Fraternities" . Page 13 lists all of the historically Jewish fraternities. It is very interesting to leaf through the pages.

/crashing

[HawaiiTKE]

Not outcasts in that connotation you are implying. Outcasts in the sense that I said in my original post; that they are not white which is the majority. I would think that's why they join an multi cultural fraternity to combine something they all have in common, which is coming from ethnic backgrounds.