Two firsts for Sigma Epsilon Zeta (Montevallo)

[john1082]

The question is an interesting one, but I don't know if we have the appropriate date. I know that the 600A form does not ask for racial data and I presume that would be the source document. Nor does it ask about sexual preferences or religion.

My fear about asking that question is that it might, in some way, generate a requirement somewhere to start tracking and reporting that data to schools and government agencies. As a private organization, it is our business who belongs, but not that of the schools or the government.

[GammaZeta]

Good point John. I think that the data would already be in the hands of the school or government. A school does know if a student is black or white or whatever. All they would have to do is cross reference the submitted membership list to their own records. However, I'd have to think that an organization with 100's of thousands of members and alumni, that there is some type of statistics available.

I'm sure that there must have been some type of study done.

[john1082]

I suspect that you're right, but I don't want to collect or analyze the data. That's a rock that I don't think that we want to turn over.

I don't think we've anything to be ashamed of, but there are opportunists out there that might well exploit the study. I would not want to have data that could be sought by the news media or by a government agency, possibly via subpoena, that might generate controversy for us - or for other fraternities that might not have a similar reputation or history of inclusion.

It's not that I don't trust people, but if we do not have the data then we cannot be coerced or forced to surrender it. If we don't have it, we can't be ordered to go out and gather it, analyze it and present it. If we already do have it then it is a simple matter of an official demand of some sort.

[GammaZeta]

Yeah, I'm just curious, that's all.

But maybe this is part of a bigger problem with recruiting. After all, if we don't know who we are, how are we supposed to tell people who we are?

LXA is a product, like it or not. Recruitment is simply selling that product. But how are we supposed to sell a product when we don't know who is buying it?

When Coca-Cola or Ford or any other major company starts a marketing campaign, they find out who they appeal to, their consumers' economic status, religion, race, gender, age, etc.

I can give you some good guesses as to who we are: white, at least middle-class, Christian or Catholic.

But maybe to become more effective in our marketing, maybe we should take a look at exactly who we are.

[john1082]

I think a chapter could do this study quite well in it's own market. Different schools have different demographics. For example, I know that there are a great many asian students at California (Mu Zeta) but far, far fewer at North Dakota (Epsilon-Zeta Zeta).

Given that we recruit on a local basis and that each Zeta has its own distinct demographic profile, then an individual Zeta could study the distribution for its own enlightenment. I don't know how much utility an analysis of the Berkeley demographics would have on the campus of Central Florida given the distinctly different student bodies (Cal is over 50% grad students but they don't join fraternities).

Chapters must choose what works for them. They must determine which men share our values. They must choose men that get along with the Brothers in the chapter. They must find, for the rest of us, those men whom we would all choose to call Brother.

We have struck from our governing documents those words and phrases that would dictate race and religious belief. By vote of the General Assembly we directed that sexual orientation is not a bar to membership. We have stated, through these actions, that one's personality, ideals, and attainments are the things that we will examine and consider in our deliberations.

I agree that the demographics would be interesting, but I am gun-shy of conducting research that others could obtain and use to our detriment. That comes, perhaps, from being a white, straight, ROTC, guy, living in a frat house in Berkeley in the mid-seventies!

And I made my living as a statistician for Texas Instruments in the early eighties!