GA State College White Student Union

[badgeguy]

Georgia State Student Forms White Student Union

Any thoughts?

On a side note, when I was in school, our chapter tried repeatedly to contact Alpha Phi Alpha, and Kappa Alpha Psi to have parties together, but we never got any responses. We were a brand new chapter on campus and maybe we didn't approach the groups correctly, or weren't clear about how parties worked with other groups at that time.
I was wondering if there are any campuses in which the traditional african american groups had events with the traditional caucasian groups?

[Sen's Revenge]

"Why is it when a white person say he is proud to be white he’s shunned as a racist?"

Because he/she usually really is.

To your side note: While it was rude of them not to respond, BGLO chapters are typically smaller and stretched a lot thinner when it comes to programming. When it comes to Alpha, I know for a fact that if the chapter is in a district that has a spring conference, they are literally going to be tied up for half of the semester's weekends on official business (District Conference, Region Convention, membership intake activities) and that's not counting the road trips and performances in step shows on other campuses (which, if they win, are handsome fundraisers).

[pshsx1]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

"Why is it when a white person say he is proud to be white he’s shunned as a racist?"

Because he/she usually really is.

^^ This falls into the reasons why there isn't a White History Month or a White Entertainment Television or any other Privileged Majority things.

----------------------------------

And on the note of NPHC/IFC interaction, my fraternity has hosted a few events with NPHC orgs. The thing is, the ratio was usually somewhere around 30 SigEps to 1 NPHC person. So, it was understanding what they could do with their resources. Also, there were sometimes limitations to what types of events they would want to participate in.

Also, it is hard to bring an NPHC org into your social calendar rotation all of a sudden when no one has reached out to them for the past XX years they were on campus. You have to understand that to.

[knight_shadow]

To piggyback on Sen's comment..

There's also the chance that they couldn't host a party. In my fraternity (not a BGLO, FWIW), the undergraduates are required to register the party with their regional directors (and sometimes the school itself), who then get together with our national board for approval (to make sure all the insurance stuff is in order). If someone tries to get an approval at the last minute, it's possible that it can be denied. No approval = no party.

At any point, did your chapter offer to co-sponsor a service event or any other type of programming? Or did you all support any of their existing programs? We were much more likely to mingle with an organization if they at least made an effort to check out what we were doing.

[amIblue?]

As far as the story in the original link goes, GMAFB. Quite frankly your ever so innocent tone with these posts is getting tiresome as all get out, badgeguy.

As far as pairing up among the conferences goes, there are service projects and activites done as joint efforts by the Tri Greek council at Vanderbilt, which matches NPC, NIC, and NPHC orgs together. They do some pretty cool stuff.

[StealthMode]

Ha! We (my young adult ministry) just discussed this last week though we were talking about incidents from high school BSUs. How ironic that this pops up this week.

Is it fair that it's not PC to have a White Student Union? No. We will leave it there and not discuss the historical context that makes people leery of lots of Caucasians getting together to celebrate their White pride. Was that what you were looking for?

[DrPhil]

I agree with amIblue? about badgeguy.

Originally Posted by StealthMode

Is it fair that it's not PC to have a White Student Union?

It isn't about fair and PC. It is about the fact that the majority doesn't need reminders that they are the majority. White people are everywhere. White people do not forget their presence and neither do nonwhites. That doesn't mean that white people do not fall on hard times but these hard times are rarely a direct or indirect result of "whiteness."

That is also why there is no Heterosexual Student Union. Most organizations are either directly or indirectly based on heterosexuality. Do heterosexuals need another reminder that they are the power majority around the world? Do heterosexuals need another reminder that their sexuality and interactions are not monitored and controlled as the LGBT community? Nope. And we can apply that same logic to any other power dominant group.

[StealthMode]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

It is about the fact that the majority doesn't need reminders that they are the majority.

I was referring to the fairness of the situation if White students were the minority, as the young man quoted in the article said:

"If we are already minorities on campus and are soon to be minorities in this country why wouldn't we have the right to advocate for ourselves and have a club just like every other minority?" Sharp, 18, said."

He seems to be have figured out that he can pull the minority card by adding all the other ethnicity percentages together to intentionally outnumber his own group but I was trying to pretend I didn't notice.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by StealthMode

I was referring to the fairness of the situation if White students were the minority, as the young man quoted in the article said:

He seems to be have figured out that he can pull the minority card by adding all the other ethnicity percentages together to intentionally outnumber his own group but I was trying to pretend I didn't notice.

Soror, thanks for clarifying.

You already know that white people who are the minority on campus can just leave campus from time to time to be reminded that they are relatively empowered whites. There is no shortage of reminders once they leave campus. On some campuses in which whites are the population minority, whites remain the power majority. You don't have to be the population majority to be the power majority---South Africa, anyone? That doesn't mean that things will always be in white people's favor and that whites will never struggle. It just means there are more buffers to being told "no" or falling on hard times.

I have seen HBCUs bend over backwards to have an abundance of white faculty and white students. These schools can make more money and increase their ranking if they are "historically" Black but not predominantly Black in terms of its most successful and money making programs, including graduate programs. PWIs that focus on diversity are typically not doing so to increase the school's competitiveness, academic ranking, and finances. The only exception is when attracting certain East Indian and certain Asian populations.

And I wish people (not you) would stop saying whites will ever be a minority (power-wise or population-wise) in this country. That is not true but it works for good dramatics and to scare whites against "brown immigration" and into "white pronatalism". Hispanic is an ethnic category that includes white Hispanics. Whites can find solace in the fact that there is no shortage of non-English and English speaking whites from around the world. As for Spanish speakers, there are plenty of whites from South America, the Caribbean, and Spain to buffer those "scary non-English speakers that are sending the U.S.A to hell." An example is one of my Cuban friends hates it when I say "Afro-Cubana/o" because it is technically redundant. I say "Afro-Cubana/o" because there are plenty of people from these countries who consider themselves white (even if they call it something other than "white").

[AnchorAlum]

Originally Posted by StealthMode

Ha! We (my young adult ministry) just discussed this last week though we were talking about incidents from high school BSUs. How ironic that this pops up this week.

Is it fair that it's not PC to have a White Student Union? No. We will leave it there and not discuss the historical context that makes people leery of lots of Caucasians getting together to celebrate their White pride. Was that what you were looking for?

White pride? I have pride that I'm a human being who doesn't believe in skin color making one iota of difference about who you are, what opportunities you should have, or how I judge you, period.

I hear the whole Black History Month, why don't WE have a White History Month, etc. etc.

When I was growing up, do you think there was a single blessed mention of anyone's color in our history books?

Example, I didn't know Crispus Attucks was a black free man until college. I had mixed feelings about it. One of the most prominent feelings was a conflict between well, he was a hero, and color shouldn't matter one way or the other, but then I was becoming aware of the fact that we were held back from learning that black people had serious roles in this country that we weren't supposed to know about?

So, I can understand why we have a Black History Month.

As to BSU's, the one at Florida State started when I was an undergrad. Black students had just begun attending FSU in increasing numbers and we had a unique situation because FAMU was just several blocks away. I know that some of the black students at FSU had torn feelings of not being sure how they'd assimilate - versus the far easier road for them at FAMU. When you're just sticking your toe in the water, it helps if someone just like you is standing with you, doing the same thing.

Today, FSU grants more degrees to black students than any other Florida university. So, I think it's worked out very well.

[badgeguy]

Ok, do NPHC groups often try to reach out to NIC or NPC groups on their campus? I understood the difficulty in trying to set up events do to scheduling, but at the time I was in school I would have loved to been able to learn more about the whole NPHC culture and how it differed from what I was experiencing. At the school there was a definite desperation between "white" groups and the "non-white" groups.

I came from a high school where we had friends from all walks....and then going off to college and joining the fraternity...I'll say it, it was as if the whole system was a "whites only" thing....it really bothered me becuase even at rush events we couldn't attract any minorities, they usually always went to the NPHC groups....it was I guess a sort of "you go your way, and we will go our way..."

I just don't understand, in this day and age why that was the case.

As for my original post...amiblue? why do you feel this is tiring? Are you opposed to race discussions?? Unfortunately this country will always have a race issue becuase people don't really want to talk about it, seems that most people just want it all be swept under a rug.

I would love for the entire world to think of us all as human beings first....forgetting the religious, ethnical, skin color, and all that....

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

Ok, do NPHC groups often try to reach out to NIC or NPC groups on their campus? I understood the difficulty in trying to set up events do to scheduling, but at the time I was in school I would have loved to been able to learn more about the whole NPHC culture and how it differed from what I was experiencing. At the school there was a definite desperation between "white" groups and the "non-white" groups.

I came from a high school where we had friends from all walks....and then going off to college and joining the fraternity...I'll say it, it was as if the whole system was a "whites only" thing....it really bothered me becuase even at rush events we couldn't attract any minorities, they usually always went to the NPHC groups....it was I guess a sort of "you go your way, and we will go our way..."

I just don't understand, in this day and age why that was the case.

As for my original post...amiblue? why do you feel this is tiring? Are you opposed to race discussions?? Unfortunately this country will always have a race issue becuase people don't really want to talk about it, seems that most people just want it all be swept under a rug.

I would love for the entire world to think of us all as human beings first....forgetting the religious, ethnical, skin color, and all that....

I said tiresome, not tiring. There is a difference. And I already told you in my post what I find tiresome: your pretended innocent, fence riding tone. Do you seriously not know what the problem with a white student union is? Were you recently transplanted here from Mars or are you just willfully obtuse?
h
I participate in race related threads frequently. I also assert opinions. I don't have a problem with the conversation. My problem is with you and your lack of opinions while trying to stir the pot.

[Leslie Anne]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

Ok, do NPHC groups often try to reach out to NIC or NPC groups on their campus? I understood the difficulty in trying to set up events do to scheduling, but at the time I was in school I would have loved to been able to learn more about the whole NPHC culture and how it differed from what I was experiencing. At the school there was a definite desperationI think you mean disparity between "white" groups and the "non-white" groups.



I came from a high school where we had friends from all walks....and then going off to college and joining the fraternity...I'll say it, it was as if the whole system was a "whites only" thing....it really bothered me becuase even at rush events we couldn't attract any minorities, they usually always went to the NPHC groups....it was I guess a sort of "you go your way, and we will go our way..."

I just don't understand, in this day and age why that was the case.

Do you really not understand this? I'm with amiblue?. I think you're playing dumb and I have no idea why you'd want to do that.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

Ok, do NPHC groups often try to reach out to NIC or NPC groups on their campus? I understood the difficulty in trying to set up events do to scheduling, but at the time I was in school I would have loved to been able to learn more about the whole NPHC culture and how it differed from what I was experiencing. At the school there was a definite desperation between "white" groups and the "non-white" groups.

When I was an undergrad, no we really did not try to do too much with the "white" groups, as you put it.

I think what you don't understand is the purpose for existence of NPHC groups. NPHC orgs are not so much social orgs as NPC and IFC are, but instead we are about community service, with an emphasis for the AfAm community. Our programs and fundraisers target a variety of community service projects. One joins NPHC orgs not so much for their socializing, but because one feels an alignment with their community service programs.

I came from a high school where we had friends from all walks....and then going off to college and joining the fraternity...I'll say it, it was as if the whole system was a "whites only" thing....it really bothered me becuase even at rush events we couldn't attract any minorities, they usually always went to the NPHC groups....it was I guess a sort of "you go your way, and we will go our way..."



I just don't understand, in this day and age why that was the case.

NPHC orgs have a strong presence in the AfAm community, and that can impress an AfAm youngster to want to join that org. I typically don't see NPC and IFC orgs actively working in the AfAm community, so when AfAm kids go to college more often than not NPC and IFC orgs aren't on their radar.

As for my original post...amiblue? why do you feel this is tiring? Are you opposed to race discussions?? Unfortunately this country will always have a race issue becuase people don't really want to talk about it, seems that most people just want it all be swept under a rug.

I would love for the entire world to think of us all as human beings first....forgetting the religious, ethnical, skin color, and all that....

Sure.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

Ok, do NPHC groups often try to reach out to NIC or NPC groups on their campus? I understood the difficulty in trying to set up events do to scheduling, but at the time I was in school I would have loved to been able to learn more about the whole NPHC culture and how it differed from what I was experiencing. At the school there was a definite desperation between "white" groups and the "non-white" groups.

I came from a high school where we had friends from all walks....and then going off to college and joining the fraternity...I'll say it, it was as if the whole system was a "whites only" thing....it really bothered me becuase even at rush events we couldn't attract any minorities, they usually always went to the NPHC groups....it was I guess a sort of "you go your way, and we will go our way..."

I just don't understand, in this day and age why that was the case.

As for my original post...amiblue? why do you feel this is tiring? Are you opposed to race discussions?? Unfortunately this country will always have a race issue becuase people don't really want to talk about it, seems that most people just want it all be swept under a rug.

I would love for the entire world to think of us all as human beings first....forgetting the religious, ethnical, skin color, and all that....

It seems you're making a few errors here. First, you seem to assume that there is such a thing as the AfAm community. Second, you're assuming NPHC=NIC/NPC for black people.

Both of those assumptions would be wrong. Just because we all have Greek letters doesn't mean we're all created for a similar purpose. I belong to a social fraternity. Service certainly is part of it, but it's definitely not the focus.

Now, yes, we've had co sponsored events with NPHC groups--had a great fish fry with the Deltas when I was an undergrad 10ish years ago... that should've become a thing... but as someone else said, those groups, at least on my campus are nowhere near our size and they already have plenty of programming without really needing to reach out.

It just seems you're assuming GLO=GLO, which is just wrong.