Southern Mississippi: Diversity in NPC Sororities

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

So do some northern campuses. The campuses I'm aware of with the most thoroughly diverse NPC chapters are private schools in the North...but there are also northern and western campuses where the NPC chapters are virtually all white, or all white and Asian on a campus with lots of unaffiliated black and Hispanic women.

The South is also not the only region where you'll find systems where "lower-tier" chapters are making all the diversity progress, while the "elite" chapters remain very white. The same is often true when it comes to diversity of body type, disability, and economic background.

I wasn't making my comment re the south in the context that this is the only part of the country where this is an issue. My comment was made in the spirit of that's where I live, and that's where my experience is.

[Low C Sharp]

Oh, of course -- I didn't mean to correct you, just to supplement with my northern observations, too.

[AGDAlum]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

LOLLLLLLL...

Especially since the article begins with the woman being proud to be the first African American sister of that chapter of Pi Beta Phi.

And LOL at a Black member of Zeta Phi Beta being put in a photo that says "...represent the diversity in their respective sororities."

There's an AKA in that same photo.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by AGDAlum

There's an AKA in that same photo.

Who invited an AKA to the party?

An AKA and a Zeta who represent the diversity in their respective organizations. Is that AKA also a Rho Chi? Questions...questions....

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Who invited an AKA to the party?

An AKA and a Zeta who represent the diversity in their respective organizations. Is that AKA also a Rho Chi? Questions...questions....

They really should have included a Delta too, right?

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

They really should have included a Delta too, right?

That would be even more unfortunate.

[amIblue?]

I haven't weighed in on the NPHC Rho Chis, so I will. Honestly, the paths to membership are so different that I would think that it's weird. Of course, NPC rush has so many rules that if a person is capable of learning the rules without bias for her own group, then perhaps that person may be an excellent Rho Chi.

OK, I just realized that I really don't have an opinion on this issue. It is weird because recruitment vs. intake is so different, but if that's what they want to do, then whatever.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I haven't weighed in on the NPHC Rho Chis, so I will. Honestly, the paths to membership are so different that I would think that it's weird. Of course, NPC rush has so many rules that if a person is capable of learning the rules without bias for her own group, then perhaps that person may be an excellent Rho Chi.

OK, I just realized that I really don't have an opinion on this issue. It is weird because recruitment vs. intake is so different, but if that's what they want to do, then whatever.

My school allowed women who had joined through COB to be Rho Chis. I don't see how NPHC-affiliated women are any different. Neither have gone through formal rush.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

My school allowed women who had joined through COB to be Rho Chis. I don't see how NPHC-affiliated women are any different. Neither have gone through formal rush.

Whether COB or formal rush, the person is an NPCer.

Maybe I need a refresher course on what the purpose of a Rho Chi is.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Whether COB or formal rush, the person is an NPCer.

Maybe I need a refresher course on what the purpose of a Rho Chi is.

IMO, a good Rho Chi does three things well:

1) Counsels women who are disappointed when then get a schedule they aren't expecting or have trouble making choices, etc.

2) Explains the rules of FR clearly and correctly to the PNM.

3) Knows the rules of FR and keeps her eyes open for refractions.

I don't think that a women who joins through COB can do #1 any better than someone who is not an NPC'er. If you've never been through FR as a PNM, you can not know what it is like to go through FR as a PNM. I would even take it a step further, and say that a woman who had a generally happy and successful recruitment can not know what it is like to be a PNM who gets only one invite back after the first round.

I would argue that, in many situations, neutrality helps with counseling PNM's. If you are a member of XYZ, and a PNM comes to you saying she just can't decide between ABC and XYZ, you can not really be impartial, as much as you'd like to be. Also, you just might let the fact that Pattie PNM is not a sure thing slip to the members of your chapter participating in membership selection.

As for #2, many women who have been through FR do this poorly, and we've talked many times about the need for better Rho Chi training. The fact is, though, the average member who may become a Rho Chi likely has no more knowledge of the complicated rules than someone who has not been in an NPC group.

And #3, again, a non-NPC woman could arguably be more fair in keeping her eyes open and/or reporting violations once she has learned the rules in Rho Chi training.

So, if you consider these the most important duties of a Rho Chi, there is no reason to think that an NPHC woman couldn't do them just as well as an NPC member.

Of course, I am talking about my experience on a big campus, where FR was, unfortunately, pretty adversarial among NPC groups. I think that, on other campuses, it may be more important for Rho Chis need to do more stuff like "promote NPC recruitment, generally", in which case, NPHC women would not be the appropriate people to do that.

Certainly, I don't think NPHC women should be obligated to help out with FR just because they are members of the CPH or anything, but I also think that non-NPC women can be very valuable to the FR process on some campuses.

[amIblue?]

I would like to point out that simply because a sister joined an org via COB rather than FR, it doesn't necessarily mean that she didn't go through Formal Rush.

However, I think that anyone with patience and the intelligence to understand the rules could do just as well as some of the Rho Chis I've known over the years.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I would like to point out that simply because a sister joined an org via COB rather than FR, it doesn't necessarily mean that she didn't go through Formal Rush.

However, I think that anyone with patience and the intelligence to understand the rules could do just as well as some of the Rho Chis I've known over the years.

Ah, good point!

[33girl]

I don't think it's an issue of learning and implementing rules here. If that was the case, we could probably have men as Rho Chis too.

Quite frankly, I wonder how someone who joined in the NPHC mindset (research all the groups, choose the one that is best for you, keep your mouth sealed shut while doing these things, if at first you don't succeed keep trying for that group) could successfully divorce herself from it enough to be an effective Rho Chi. As in, a Rho Chi who can, from the heart, tell a woman that she needs to look at ALL the groups and give them ALL a chance.

If she is an NPHC woman who doesn't have that mindset, my guess is that she or her chapter is somewhat unique to her org as a whole. This is just what I've gleaned from years on GC.

Again, to me it's like the APO member who was an IFC president. Our methods of choosing members are COMPLETELY different. Could an APO member read about IFC rush and make a "textbook" decision about it? Yes. Do they understand what it's like doing it in real life? No.

[DubaiSis]

I like the idea of a disinterested third party helping with the process. And frankly, I could see having an NPHC equivalent to help the girls considering intake figure out the process without having to out themselves to the NPHC women. Of course, it is SO foreign to most of us that we'd have a mountain of training to do if we were to be effective, but I'm sure these women took their role very seriously and learned a lot about each of the chapters. And remember, this isn't IU or U of I. They could learn a lot about all of these chapters without too much trouble.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

And frankly, I could see having an NPHC equivalent to help the women considering intake figure out the process without having to out themselves to the NPHC women.

No, that would fail miserably.

NPHC aspirants, applicants, and prospective members figure out the process while they undergo the process. They have plenty of resources.