Racial Conflict

[shinerbock]

I just don't understand why people view it as a problem. Everyone excludes. Black people often segregate themselves, and I fail to see anything wrong with that. They often have more in common with other black people, and share common interests and goals. I just think its stupid to go out of your way to achieve diversity. Once again diversity =/= mixed races. You can have plenty of diversity in an all white or all black group. If your group wants to have a lot of different cultures and view points in it, go for it, enjoy. As for my fraternity, the reason we joined a fraternity is to be around people with common interests. If I wanted to be in a multi-cultural environment with a host of viewpoints, ideologies and faiths, I'd have joined....THE WORLD.

[FSUZeta]

wealth does not equal high class, and lack of wealth does not equal white trash. i have known plenty of people who were not rich, but were admired in the community in which they lived-they were not considered white trash.

i have also known rich people who definately were white trash-people much like the wealthy people that dstchaos described. to me trashy has more to do with actions than with ones bank account.

please try not to generalize about southern sororities and fraternities not offering membership to blacks-because that is just not true. off the top of my head i can name several npc and ifc chapters that have black members.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

wealth does not equal high class, and lack of wealth does not equal white trash. i have known plenty of people who were not rich, but were admired in the community in which they lived-they were not considered white trash.

i have also known rich people who definately were white trash-people much like the wealthy people that dstchaos described. to me trashy has more to do with actions than with ones bank account.

My point, exactly.

[blackngoldengrl]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

please try not to generalize about southern sororities and fraternities not offering membership to blacks-because that is just not true. off the top of my head i can name several npc and ifc chapters that have black members.

Like some at the university of alabama? Do we even NEED to go there?

[shinerbock]

DSTS, I see what you're saying, and nobody ever denies that there are some minorities who probably have things in common with me or my fraternity. However, we're using pretty isolated cases here. Sure, I'm generalizing, but the majority of black kids I went to college with had no desire to be in my fraternity, nor did they have much in common with us. Theres also a difference between people we can have fun with and people you'd want in your group. Recruits and football players go to Auburn fraternity parties sometimes, and I'm sure they usually have a good time. However, that doesn't mean they'd want to be in the fraternity, nor does it mean we'd want them to be. I just don't see the point in being "diverse" for diversity's sake. If they come, let them come, but I see no reason to make some concerted effort to get a black guy to join.

Minerva, I don't think its wrong to have connections. Do some people get screwed out because of it? Sure, but generally the people who get those benefits are pretty qualified. I won't lie, I probably got my DC internships because of my fraternity affiliation and my family. That being said, I'm not unqualified to get them, and its something other applicants with similar resume's didn't have. Now, if its an obvious abuse of privilege, then I'd probably have a problem with it. But a lot of the time, people with power have friends and associates who happen to be some of the best and the brightest, and thats a pretty good pool to choose from.

[FSUZeta]

you went there blackandgold, not anyone else.

i am guessing that you are referring to the brouhaha that supposedly happened when gamma phi beta extended a bid to a black woman? they saw a young woman who they thought would make a great member. it was other people(including the campus newspaper) that wanted to make a big deal out if it.

i was actually referring to the zta chapter at fsu, the zta chapter at samford, the zta chapter at ucf, the zta chapter at stetson(their president last year was a black woman), the pi kappa alpha chapter at fsu, the theta chi chapter at ucf, and the phi kappa psi chapter at auburn. they all have black members, to mention just a few.

macallan- the fsu ztas, the samford ztas, the ucf ztas and the fsu pikes ARE among the tops on their respective campuses. i cannot speak for the others.

[shinerbock]

no offense, but I went to Auburn, whats a phi sig?

[FSUZeta]

none taken-i will have to look up the chapter to make sure i have the name correct.

oops- it is phi kappa psi at auburn.

[blackngoldengrl]

No I was not thinking explicitly about the member that joined GFB, but rather that there had to be a big deal about it. If it was such a regular phenomenon, why the "bruhaha?" As far as I know, there have been a limited number of black women to join in the NPC sororities there.

Is anyone on here from Alabama that could speak on this? Am I off base?

[FSUZeta]

no one said that blacks joining npc or ifc groups in the south was a regular thing. someone implied that southern sororities and fraternities do not have black members and i was trying to let them see that that is not true.

before we can determine if blacks joining npc and ifc groups is common or rare, we would have to know how many blacks participated in npc or ifc recruitment and of those people, how many were extended a bid.

to take it further, we would need to know the reason that those who were not extended a bid, did not receive one. did they have a gpa that was at or above the gpa requirement of panhellenic, but had a gpa that did not meet the sorority's required gpa? i don't know why , but it seems that often the required gpa to participate in recruitment is lower than many of the sororities required gpa.

did they decide that they did not have the time to devote to the pledgeship?

was the cost prohibitive?

were they offered a bid, but decided that that chapter was not for them?

if they were not offered a bid, were they on the bid list, but that chapter reached quota before they got to that person?

if they were dropped by the chapter, was if because they were black, or was it because the member rushing the pnm did not mesh well with the pnm?

Originally Posted by blackngoldengrl

No I was not thinking explicitly about the member that joined GFB, but rather that there had to be a big deal about it. If it was such a regular phenomenon, why the "bruhaha?" As far as I know, there have been a limited number of black women to join in the NPC sororities there.

Is anyone on here from Alabama that could speak on this? Am I off base?

kk_gphib_01 is an alumna of the Alabama Gamma Phi chapter you spoke of and was a collegian when her chapter became the first NPC on campus to integrate in 2003.

[bamabelle99]

Originally Posted by blackngoldengrl

No I was not thinking explicitly about the member that joined GFB, but rather that there had to be a big deal about it. If it was such a regular phenomenon, why the "bruhaha?" As far as I know, there have been a limited number of black women to join in the NPC sororities there.

Is anyone on here from Alabama that could speak on this? Am I off base?

There have been a limited number of black women to join in the NPC sororities at Alabama because there are a limited number of black women that choose to register to rush. I only saw one black woman go through rush the four years I was there.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

macallan- the fsu ztas, the samford ztas, the ucf ztas and the fsu pikes ARE among the tops on their respective campuses. i cannot speak for the others.

That maybe true....however I don't really think Florida State and Central Florida in a discussion about Southern greek life and major chapters. I tend to think Ole Miss, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, LSU, UGA, W&L....I think yo uget the picture.

.....also, Pike is not tops at FSU.....

[EGAOPi]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

you went there blackandgold, not anyone else.
macallan- the fsu ztas, the samford ztas, the ucf ztas and the fsu pikes ARE among the tops on their respective campuses. i cannot speak for the others.

You are absolutely right. I have many friends in Greek Life at FSU and they always speak very highly of ZTA and Pike.

To respond to what others were saying, I know racism exists, especially at southern schools, but at my school (which is in the south, but not traditionally southern), it does not determine whether or not you are extended a bid to join a sorority or a fraternity. The are black women in Delta Gamma, Kappa Delta, TriDelta, and Chi Omega here, as well as black members of Sig Ep, Sigma Chi, and countless other fraternities.

I do notice that the multi-cultural fraternities prefer to segregate themselves and I can understand that because their organizations are based on totally different cultures. Their organization bonds them together. In that same way, I can see why historically white groups may feel the same why, though I do believe if an intelligent, classy woman of a different race fits in well with a chapter here, she is deserving of a bid.

Also, there is a Southeastern Asian sorority here with numerous black members. Their president is also black.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

off the top of my head i can name several npc and ifc chapters that have black members.

I can too....and I hate to say it, but those chapters are not good at their respective campuses....at all.