Alabama recruitment fall-out

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by Hartofsec

I didn't make that claim -- you make the claim that I knew something about girls who don't come from the "right background:"



And I did, actually.

Okay, I think you and I are in agreement that you can't gauge how many AA women are "interested" in rushing based on how many sign up, because there will be a significant number of women who don't want to the be tokenized, who don't want the media attention, etc.

My point is that it goes even beyond that. Even before all the controversy happened, if an AA woman thought "man, NPC sororities look cool, I wanna do that!" and then spent a few minutes online finding out she needs recs, personal connections, etc., how likely is she to continue with the process knowing she doesn't have any of these things?

I have heard PNM's told time and time again on this board that they have to be able to get recs, because they can ask teachers and people at church and so on. The thing is, for AA women living in AA communities, that just is NOT true.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Okay, I think you and I are in agreement that you can't gauge how many AA women are "interested" in rushing based on how many sign up, because there will be a significant number of women who don't want to the be tokenized, who don't want the media attention, etc.

My point is that it goes even beyond that. Even before all the controversy happened, if an AA woman thought "man, NPC sororities look cool, I wanna do that!" and then spent a few minutes online finding out she needs recs, personal connections, etc., how likely is she to continue with the process knowing she doesn't have any of these things?

I have heard PNM's told time and time again on this board that they have to be able to get recs, because they can ask teachers and people at church and so on. The thing is, for AA women living in AA communities, that just is NOT true.

I absolutely agree with just about everything you said there.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

That's cute. You have a Latino friend.

That's what I got out of that anecdote. "Wonderful immigrant man from South American country" was PC for "(possibly) illegal amigo from disadvantaged circumstances had a daughter who beat the odds, so it IS possible! And I knew him!"

Originally Posted by Hartofsec

I absolutely agree with just about everything you said there.

Also. As someone who was interested in NPC greek life (well, being greek generally, but initially exposed and sought out NPC first) I couldn't have told you WHERE to find an NPC alumna. I had enough white teachers but how would I know, as a first-generation college hopeful, how to navigate all the preparation to become greek? I legitimately did not consider greek life until I got on campus. Thankfully I didn't attend a school like Alabama (super informal, no big houses, etc) but if I had, I'd have been SOL. Who would've primed me on tent talk, recs, and what to wear?

Especially since the Internet (and having access to a computer) wasn't something anyone I knew growing up had easy access to. An hour at a time at the library and maybe at lunch time. So tell me, in my largely AA, poor urban neighborhood, would I even have began?

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by tld221

That's what I got out of that anecdote. "Wonderful immigrant man from South American country" was PC for "(possibly) illegal amigo from disadvantaged circumstances had a daughter who beat the odds, so it IS possible! And I knew him!"



Also. As someone who was interested in NPC greek life (well, being greek generally, but initially exposed and sought out NPC first) I couldn't have told you WHERE to find an NPC alumna. I had enough white teachers but how would I know, as a first-generation college hopeful, how to navigate all the preparation to become greek? I legitimately did not consider greek life until I got on campus. Thankfully I didn't attend a school like Alabama (super informal, no big houses, etc) but if I had, I'd have been SOL. Who would've primed me on tent talk, recs, and what to wear?

Especially since the Internet (and having access to a computer) wasn't something anyone I knew growing up had easy access to. An hour at a time at the library and maybe at lunch time. So tell me, in my largely AA, poor urban neighborhood, would I even have began?

That's really interesting. Some of this could come from alumnae associations sponsoring information sessions during orientation days at particular schools.

It could also be addressed by committing to COB. I wonder if that is why KD's press release made a point of talking about COB. I was a little surprised. I don't imagine that in the normal course of things the KD chapter at Alabama does a ton of COB.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by tld221

That's what I got out of that anecdote. "Wonderful immigrant man from South American country" was PC for "(possibly) illegal amigo from disadvantaged circumstances had a daughter who beat the odds, so it IS possible! And I knew him!"

I think that many are probably reluctant to enter discussions like these due to the risk (probability, even) of having their comments misconstrued (the feeling that whatever they say will be pointed out as offensive, wrong, rooted in racism, etc). In order to have a productive discussion, it is important that all participants put aside preconceived notions and judgment about other’s intent.

Did you get anything from the research article I posted earlier? What did you think?

Originally Posted by tld221

Also. As someone who was interested in NPC greek life (well, being greek generally, but initially exposed and sought out NPC first) I couldn't have told you WHERE to find an NPC alumna. I had enough white teachers but how would I know, as a first-generation college hopeful, how to navigate all the preparation to become greek? I legitimately did not consider greek life until I got on campus. Thankfully I didn't attend a school like Alabama (super informal, no big houses, etc) but if I had, I'd have been SOL. Who would've primed me on tent talk, recs, and what to wear?

Especially since the Internet (and having access to a computer) wasn't something anyone I knew growing up had easy access to. An hour at a time at the library and maybe at lunch time. So tell me, in my largely AA, poor urban neighborhood, would I even have began?

I think that is a conversation we should be having.

Women who come from families or communities where sorority membership is common are privy to the unsaid rules, social norms, and expectations that are key parts of sorority recruitment.
http://afa1976.org/Portals/0/documents/Oracle/Park%20Fall2012.pdf

In my earlier anecdote, the young lady attended a large predominately white high school where discussion among UofA-bound girls concerning recruitment would be common. While she had no family connections or privileged background, she likely had many friends who were at least somewhat knowledgeable about recruitment. The PNM of interest last fall attended a small predominately white private school in Tuscaloosa (97% white), and her grandfather is a prominent UofA University Trustee. She would not be representative of a typical PNM - or of a typical AA PNM.

This is not an easy issue to address in a system with – in almost every way imaginable - a turbo-tacular recruitment. I’m interested in hearing what others think. How has this been addressed elsewhere?