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Sorority racial snub a 'wake-up call'


By Rebecca McCarthy
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

Athens -- After she heard her sorority sisters disparaging an
African-American who was seeking to join them, a member of Alpha Gamma Delta
said, she decided to listen to her conscience and share her concerns with
University of Georgia officials.

In a letter, the sorority member said the African-American membership
candidate was discussed separately from other potential members.

Sorority members who had given her a low score "attributed their ratings to
her race, making comments such as 'Why did she want to go through White
Rush?' [and] 'If we had a black girl in our sorority, none of the
fraternities would want to do anything with us,' " the letter says.

The letter set in motion a series of events that has led UGA to temporarily
suspend the sorority and launch an investigation into possible racial
discrimination in the member selection process.

"This incident should prove a wake-up call for the entire Greek system,"
said Richard Mullendore, UGA vice president for student affairs. "We've
focused on issues relative to substance abuse, hazing and leadership more
than we have diversity. It's probably an issue we need to give a lot more
attention to now."

Julie Cretin, national director of Alpha Gamma Delta, said her organization
takes the allegations of racial discrimination "very seriously." She and
other officials will be in Athens today to conduct their own investigation,
talking with the women in the UGA chapter, including the young woman who
complained.

The student addressed her letter to Rick Rose, assistant vice president for
student affairs. UGA would not identify the student who wrote the letter or
the African-American student.

"I was in shock and was extremely disappointed," the letter says. "It is
hard for me to believe that our society still harbors cruel and exclusionary
clubs that encourage their members to embarrass and humiliate others in
order to make themselves feel superior. I am confident that the University
of Georgia would not knowingly permit such blatantly discriminatory behavior
on its campus."

As far he knows, Mullendore said, the allegation marks the first time a UGA
sorority has been accused of racial discrimination. A contributing factor
may be that few African-American students choose to participate in
membership recruitment, or rush, which shepherds participants from one
predominantly white sorority to another.

The four predominantly African-American sororities at UGA don't conduct a
collective rush. Instead, each does an "intake" once a year, usually in the
fall or spring.

"It takes a lot of guts for a black student to go through rush like this
girl did," said Kendree Zaic, a sophomore from Alpharetta who was a member
of Pi Beta Phi sorority last year. "It surprises me that [discrimination]
has never come up before. [Alpha Gamma Delta] probably aren't the only ones
who do it. The systems are kind of separated here."

Though UGA doesn't keep records on the racial breakdown of individual Greek
organizations, some sororities and fraternities are known to have members
who are not of the predominant skin color. But by and large, they remain
primarily self-segregated.

"You have to look at it from a regional perspective," Mullendore said. At
large Southern universities like UGA, the system is much more segregated
that in other parts of the country or at smaller institutions.

Because many Greek groups began in the South, they have a longer history,
traditions, many more alumni "and a certain way of doing business that's
been in existence for a long time," he said. "As a result, it's a little
more difficult for them to embrace change."

The letter writer wanted to move out of the sorority house, but found she
couldn't get out of her housing contract at Alpha Gamma Delta. Rather than
continue to live with people "who found outright prejudice acceptable," she
withdrew from the university, the letter says.

"Many of my sisters made insulting faces at me and made insensitive comments
to me," the letter says. "No one offered to help as I removed my belongings
from the house. They accused me of overreacting 'to an issue that just
wasn't that important!' "

The student's comments "tear at my heart," Mullendore said. "Judgments about
people are rendered on a daily basis, but shouldn't be based on the color of
someone's skin."

While on temporary suspension, Alpha Gamma Delta cannot hold social
functions or participate in UGA activities as an organization. Supporters
said no matter what the investigation yields, the damage to Alpha Gamma
Delta's reputation is almost irreparable.

If investigators determine the allegations are true, Alpha Gamma Delta could
informally resolve the situation by admitting what occurred and coming up
with a resolution, or it could deny the allegations and request a judicial
hearing. Probation, suspension or expulsion are all possible outcomes,
Mullendore said.

-- Correspondent Andrew DeMillo contributed to this report.

__________________________________________________ _________________

Text of letter

Dr. Richard M. Ross II
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
201 Academic Building
Athens, GA 30602

Dear Dr. Ross:

Ever since I visited the University of Georgia during my junior year in high
school, I knew that I wanted to be a Georgia Bulldawg. I wanted to make the
most of my college years by becoming active in the Greek system.

In Fall 1999, I went through Recruitment and I chose Gamma Alpha chapter of
Alpha Gamma Delta. I chose this sorority over the seventeen others because
of the diversity I observed and experienced among the sorority sisters.
During Recruitment and pledging, I was led to believe that this sorority,
more than any other I visited, valued diverse backgrounds, ideas and
perspectives. I thought then that it did not matter what a young woman
looked like on the outside . . . that it is the inside that counts.

Unfortunately, on Monday, August 14, 2000, I became aware that the
attractive value system presented to me was only an Illusion. There was one
African American recruit who came through our house. . .

However, after the Round One parties, the chapter convened to vote on the
recruits who had made a bad impression. This young African American woman
was discussed separately from the other low-scoring recruits. She was not
given a fair chance by my chapter and was, in fact, excluded because of her
race.

It appears that there was a wide variance in the scores assigned to her
(l.e. some rated her very high while others rated her extremely low). Those
sisters who gave her low scores openly attributed their ratings to her race,
make comments such as:


"Why did she want to go through White Rush?"
"If we had a Black girl in our Sorority, none of the fraternities would want
to do anything with us."

Based upon these racist comments, and others, the majority of the chapter
decided to out her. I was in shock and was extremely disappointed. It is
hard for me to believe that our society still harbors cruel and exclusionary
clubs that encourage their members to embarrass and humiliate others in
order to make themselves feel superior. I am confident that the University
of Georgia would not knowingly permit such blatantly discriminatory behavior
on its campus.

I decided that I had to take action. I discussed these issues with our
Executive Council, composed of three advisers and all sorority officers. I
told them how I felt about the biased decision that had been made. I
explained that I could not live with people who found outright prejudice
acceptable.

When it appeared that they and the advisers supported the racist behavior of
the sisters, I requested that my housing contact be voided. The Council
reviewed my case and decided not to release me from my contract. However, I
must inform you that I am aware that there are fair and courageous
individuals in the Gamma Alpha chapter, including the adviser who was in
tears because of the unfairness of the Council's decision.

My only choices were to remain in the house or withdraw from the University
of Georgia. Withdrawing from the university . . . was extremely difficult.
Because of my values, I very reluctantly withdrew from the university and
left many good friends whom I met outside of the sorority.

I met with you to discuss what had happened and appreciate the time and the
interest that you invested in my situation. As promised, I have outlined
some ideas concerning actions that should be taken to promote a more diverse
and nondiscriminatory Greek and academic environment at the University of
Georgia:

-- University leadership should formally articulate on an ongoing basis that
racist, sexist and other biased behavior will not be tolerated.

-- Launch a formal investigation into the situation as a possible violation
of civil rights laws and university policy

-- Institute mandatory diversity training for all Greek life participants,
consisting of awareness-building and addressing legal compliance issues

-- Develop professionalism among advisors and Sorority/fraternity leadership
through training that addresses:


Leadership skills
Management of human differences
Enhancing the current Greek system

Challenge Greek leadership to increase diversity throughout the selection
process.

I want to share with you the petty retaliation from my sisters that I
experienced after I expressed my feelings on this matter. From the time I
notified the Council that I was withdrawing, the women treated me like a
pariah. . . .

Many of my sisters made insulting faces at me and made insensitive comments
to me. No one offered to help as I removed my belongings from the house.
They accused me of overreacting "to an issue that just wasn't that
important!" Friends of mine who came by to help me move out were not treated
with the hospitality that guests at our house always were. Attempts were
made to prevent them from entering the house to see me.

When I told my parents about what happened and what I decided, they were
very proud of me. Their hope has always been to wipe out racism in their
lifetime through their children. I feel that my actions were taken in the
spirit of what my parents and I believe. I want to help them live their
dream. I know that if I did not make a stand, nobody would.

"We as a Greek community commit to upholding the highest moral, academic and
ethical standards upon which we were founded, to change inappropriate
'traditions' which defy the ideals of our founding rituals, and to accept
the higher level of accountability of Greek members for the safety of one
another." These are ideals stated on the UGA Greek Life homepage. It is my
hope that through proposals such as mine the University of Georgia's Greek
system will be able to live up to these ideals.

Respectfully,

(name omitted)