Alabama recruitment fall-out

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by Tropical_Dancer

It seems to me that the article's author had a specific viewpoint that she wanted to support and found everything she could to support her viewpoint. Activist journalism 101.

I completely agree.

I didn't see the relevance to the race issue of much of what the article used to negatively depict the Greek system. To a casual reader unfamiliar with the system, it might leave the impression that the University shoulders the cost of the houses. The University is not being unfair or discriminatory by not providing housing to an org with 14 members.

I didn't find the part about cost relevant either -- other than to perpetuate the stereotype of Greeks as elitist rich kids. But the author's cherry pickin' did make me chuckle:

“It’s tradition and it’s a way of keeping resources amongst people who already have resources,” Hughey said. “It’s a club. And it’s a club that costs a great deal of money to join and be active in.”

According to the UA Panhellenic website, the average out-of-house living fees (meals and chapter fees) are $3,330 per semester, and the average in-house fees are $5,933 per semester.

And the 2013-2014 "in-dorm" fees? $5978.

I think the better story would have been to find these AA women who pledged NPC sororities after the president issued COB period and write about their experience. Even better would be to follow them during next year's formal recruitment.

Agree. These are the girls I would like to hear from as well. The interview with the active really didn't cover anything relevant.

[Jhawkie]

Originally Posted by Hartofsec

I didn't see the relevance to the race issue of much of what the article used to negatively depict the Greek system. To a casual reader unfamiliar with the system, it might leave the impression that the University shoulders the cost of the houses.

Well, yes, many have that impression because the university leases the land to chapters for really low amounts.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by Jhawkie

Well, yes, many have that impression because the university leases the land to chapters for really low amounts.

Then how is not leasing land to an org with 14 members relevant to race (or some form of institutional discrimination, as spun by the article)?

The University did help:

From the article:

In 2007, UA welcomed multicultural sorority Sigma Lambda Gamma. Today, the chapter is no longer in existence — fall 2013 was its last active semester.

Recent UA alumnae Brittney Knox, a black woman and graduate business student in North Carolina, once served as president of Sigma Lambda Gamma. When she joined in 2009, the chapter had 14 members.

According to Knox, the administration allocated them an adviser and helped with funding, but it wasn’t enough to fight low enrollment numbers. “You have to have so many members before you’re able to be established on campus with an actual physical house,” Knox said.

[33girl]

There's also the issue of, if a black woman goes through NPC rush and doesn't get a bid, does that affect her chances of being considered for an NPHC group if she then decides she wants to pursue one of them?

[33girl]

The quote above re SLG just solidifies the incorrect assumption that a sorority = the house. If the members honestly shared that attitude, the demise of their chapter is no one's fault but theirs.

[LXA SE285]

Originally Posted by 33girl

The quote above re SLG just solidifies the incorrect assumption that a sorority = the house. If the members honestly shared that attitude, the demise of their chapter is no one's fault but theirs.

That was kind of an odd statement for her to make—from what I understand, SLG and other MCGLOs follow a model more similar to NPHCs regarding membership selection, organization, and chapter size. You wouldn't think there'd be a hard-and-fast expectation for them to have a house.