What Makes an Organization Multicultural?

[DOVE1920]

We may have already discussed it but I don't feel like searching for previous threads . I just want know what makes an organization distinctively multicultural?

[PiKA2001]

I'm not quite sure. I know that we dont call our org multi-cultural even though we have arab, black, white, jewish, asian , and hispanic members. We are predominately white though. I think that the org has to be mostly minorities to be multicultual. I think......

[DeltaSigStan]

There's one "Multicultural" Organization on campus. Gamma Phi Epsilon has their only chapter here, and they're the only USFC GLO to have a chapter house (Not anymore though, Beta Theta Pi owns they're house and they're going to recolonize in that house).

GPhiE actually is like 20 Mexicans and one black guy. So, to call it "multicultural" is kind of a joke.

Delta Sig at SDSU actually has more of a diverse chapter. There's several hispanics, a couple Asians (myself included), and several African Americans (one of them is from Compton and used to be a crip. Now he's 4.0 pre-med (I just think that's really cool)).

From my experience, every "multicultural" GLO is dominated by one race (Hispanic or Asian mostly), with a couple of other races.

My whole thing is that if a GLO wants to call themselves "multicultural", does that mean that IFC and Panhellenic are "white" GLOs? I would think that these "multicultural" GLOs have the same aims that we do on campus and in the community, so what sets them apart from a real GLO? If a Latino GLO works within their community, and an Asian GLO works within theirs, what community would these "multicultural" GLOs work in? One would think it be the same community as IFC and Panhellenic do.

[Eirene_DGP]

Here is one good thread. http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...=Multicultural

* I am not sure if the link will work or not.
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To answer your question about Multicultural organizations since I am a proud sister of Delta Gamma Pi Multicultural Sorority ... Multicultural organizations were founded because some people do not feel comfortable pledging a majority caucasian or majority Afr. Am organization. I know several minorities within the MCGLO community are mixed race like myself and do not feel like they should have to choose a historically black or a historically white organization. Another big issue is the matter of who the founders are. I think some people have it in the back of their mind that they will never be welcomed in whatever org. because there is no diversity amongst the founders. I know this has been discussed numerous times on here so I'll keep it brief....

1. Multicultural organizations are NOT opened to minorities only
2. We are not made up of just Afr. Am and Latinos
3. Orgs. who have black, white, latino, indian etc. members are NOT multicultural UNLESS they were founded upon those principles
4. Multicultural orgs are NOT the same as NPHC
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[Eirene_DGP]

Originally posted by DeltaSigStan
There's one "Multicultural" Organization on campus.

I'm guessing since you have one multicultural organization it makes you an expert on what ALL multicultural orgs are about. You are making a generalization from one MCGLO and ASSuming you know the racial makeup of all MCGLO's. Just trying to understand what you are saying. LMAO!!! You remind me of the same people who bash all greek orgs. based upon isolated incidents and say that is what all greeks do.

[DOVE1920]

Originally posted by Eirene_DGP
[B. Another big issue is the matter of who the founders are. I think some people have it in the back of their mind that they will never be welcomed in whatever org. because there is no diversity amongst the founders. I know this has been discussed numerous times on here so I'll keep it brief....
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Thanks for your response, however here is a quote from one of my Founders, Viola Tyler Goings, a Black woman.

"[In the ideal collegiate situation] there is a Zeta in a girl regardless of race, creed, or color, who has high standards and principles, a good scholarly average and an active interest in all things that she undertakes to accomplish."

If you see race as the sole basis of our organizations you are mistaken. Service, Scholarship, Sisterly Love and Finer Womanhood have no color.

[Eirene_DGP]

Originally posted by DOVE1920



If you see race as the sole basis of our organizations you are mistaken. Service, Scholarship, Sisterly Love and Finer Womanhood have no color.

Notice I said some people have a problem with the founders. I did not say that my org. was based solely on race. I said,"I know several minorities within the MCGLO community are mixed race like myself and do not feel like they should have to choose a historically black or a historically white organization"
That is simply my opinion and what I have seen. I know a lot of people would like to believe race does not matter in this day and age but it does. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

[DGPhoney]

I think my soror might have been misunderstood. Not saying that evey organization isn't considered "Multicultural" but heres where the diffeance comes in effect.Most organizatins constitutions, say that yes they don't judge by race and ethnic background and etc... but most if not all MC orgs have the actually word "Multicultural "within their constituton.
Secondly,MC orgs ar not soely based on race, but they are more diverse for they are mainly open to everyone and don't market(not the wod, I am looking for , but will do) to on crowd of people but to everyone.

Obviously we all know race is not the sole purpose of an organizaton, or at least we hope it isn't, but sadly enough some think that. If this wasn't the case, then we wouldn't have the variety of councils
but thats just my two cents

DGP~Honey~

[DeltaSigStan]

Originally posted by Eirene_DGP


I'm guessing since you have one multicultural organization it makes you an expert on what ALL multicultural orgs are about. You are making a generalization from one MCGLO and ASSuming you know the racial makeup of all MCGLO's. Just trying to understand what you are saying. LMAO!!! You remind me of the same people who bash all greek orgs. based upon isolated incidents and say that is what all greeks do.

I never said I was an expert, nor did I ever say I knew everything there is to know about MCGLOs. I just happen to know of SEVERAL MCGLOs that are basically one race with a couple of other members. And I'm not "bashing" MCGLOs in the first place. I'm just questioning their basis of calling
themselves "multicultural" in the first place. That little tag makes it seem like a) IFC and PHC would otherwise be classifed as "white" GLOs, and b) what sets them apart from other GLOs if IFC and PHC doesn't discriminate by race in the first place. By the same token, unless there's a "Asian" or "Latino" tag in front of your GLO, then that would make EVERY other GLO "multicultural".

[Serenity]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought one major way MCGLO's were different from other organizations is that while LGLO's may focus a lot of their community service/educational programs and projects on the Latino community and HBGLO's may focus a lot of their efforts on the African American community, MCGLO's focus their programs/projects toward a wide variety of cultures: Asian, Latino, African-American, Native American, etc.

[AXOprincess]

everyone,

I have one small Suggestion...chill. I am not gonna try to answer any questions on this board, since i am not a member of or really know anything about MCGLOs. I however do have a huge problem with people being rude to those who try to answer the questions posted to the best of their ability. Eirene you had no right to go off on DeltaSig like that. You need to calm down and he was stating what he has seen at his campus. I would have to agree with him. At my school at GLOs that call themselves Multicultural are a majority of Hispanics. Wether this is right or wrong it is what i have seen...and for that doesnt make it wrong. It just means that is how it is on my campus. i think you owe DeltaSig a sorry for your flat out being rude to a fellow greek. I think this site is a great example of the saying "No matter the letter we are all greek together." Maybe you should remember that next time you go off on some one on here. Plus you are always representing your org...well with that enough said.

[DeeGeePee]

Well, I just joined Delta Gamma Pi this summer, and I decided on a MC sorority, and DGP for several reasons. But this is how I see the system, I;m not saying this is EVERYTHING, or that I'm right, but this is just my opinion. Please do not take offense.

If race were not an issue, there would not be two seperate councils, NPC and the NPHC. I know that the racial issues of the Greek system started in a harder time, but, while times have changed some, they haven't changed enough, otherwise, I think the two would have joined into one by now.

Secondly, if you look at the NPHC organizations, you will find few members who are non-black. If you look at NPC organizations, the ratio of white to non-white is still high. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, per se, but, that's how it.

Like my soror Eirene_DGP said, for those who are of a mixed background, it may be awkward for some to be in either section for whatever reason. What a specified Multicultural organization does is provide an organization that does not have a majority race background for those who are conscious of other cultures, and those who want to foster cultural diversity and understanding as one of their main goals. That's not to say that NPC and NPHC do not foster those things, but it wasn't their founding tenent.

This world isn't perfect and never will be completely, so, even an organization that is specified MC may be predominately one race or another. Thats just the luck of the draw sometimes; it depends on interest on campus, etc. And while I have yet to meet all of my sorors across the country, I know that, in DGP, there are many backgrounds represented. But also know that there does not need to be 50-11 cultures pesent for an org to be munticultural. MC sororities my be service oriented, social professional, etc, just like any other, only multiculturalism is one of their main goals as well. DGP happens to be a service and social MC sorority. We do philanthropy in many different areas of the many different interest of our multicultural sorors.

That's basically how I see it. We love and respect all glo's, no matter their racial makeup or diversity goals or lack there of, to each his own.

[DOVE1920]

Thanks for the dialogue. Unfortunately I still feel that there generalizations being made about NPHC organizations that are untrue. I feel that all organizations are multicultural, but that is my opinion. I guess some of us just acknowledge it in different ways.

[AXOprincess]

Im sorry but ever GLO has gereralizations made about them. Actually the entire greek system has gereralizations and stereotypes. I cant understand how someone would use the reason of not joining an org, because they cant relate to the founders i mean that never crossed my mind when i was deciding which house to join. I looked at the girls that were in the chapter and who i felt comfortable with. Am I the only one...did everyone think like that, i mean if they thought that they related to their ords founders? sorry i think it would be interesting to see. Again Just a thought

[lovelyivy84]

I alaways thought that MCGLOs were GLOs that aimed for a diverse group, but were STRUCTURED more like a HWGLO than an HBGLO- meaning less emphasis on community service, and more on the cosial aspect.

There was one on my campus, but they were just odd by any standards of a sorority of ANY kind, so I never counted them really, lol.