Of course, intellectually we *should* know why it is wrong to discriminate against a white, Asian or Latino/a person wishing to join an NPHC organization but I have always wondered if the reason why the few non-AAs that do join the NPHC catch so much hell because AAs are protective of our organizations?
I know that at the school where I'm a professor, the number of black students is really small and of that number only about half would have the interest and qualifications to pledge a fraternity or sorority. Add to the fact that there are multicultural GLOs growing by leaps and bounds. So it stands to reason that NPHC orgs will have to eventually branch out and try to more actively recruit non-AAs (even though none of us bar non-AAs from joining in the first place). But when our grad chapter began tossing this idea of "branching" out to our undergrads, you could tell there was resistance. I think the undergrads geniunely feared that if too many non-AAs joined the group then some of our traditions as a black organization (i.e. stepping, community service, membership for life, etc) would somehow get lost. I also think that our undergrads feel like our orgs should be a "safe haven" from the wider society (and university) that generally isn't accepting of black life and culture. Trying to explain to these undergrads that times have changed and that our traditions are solid regardless of the race of a few members was difficult. Yet, one of our other local area undergrad chapters recently had a Korean young lady become a member of SGRho. I think it all has to do with the culture of the individual members of the chapter.
As for questioning the motivations of non-AAs trying to join NPHC orgs, I think we should closely scruntize folks regardless of these race. In all of our orgs. we have a great deal of member attrition and reclamation is especially challenging. When someone is 19, 20, or 21, it is hard to determine their level of commitment to the org. over the long haul, regardless of their race. I've known folks in just about all of the NPHC orgs who could barely remember the last time they were active with their org. I think the best we can do is use their qualifications and our interactions with folks in the pre-intake phase to the organization to determine fit and their level of commitment.
Just my thoughts,
PhDiva
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