Alabama recruitment fall-out

[FSUZeta]

Patty, welcome to GreekChat. I love your attitude! I wish you the best of luck at Alabama, and with rush.

[DubaiSis]

You're the "easy" one for that oh so hard to integrate chapter to "take a risk on" and I think you will probably do well. I (and probably everyone on this thread) will be interested to hear how it goes for you. Do NOT post as you go, but keep lots of notes to share after rush is over. You will be very easy to out as a real life person in rush.

The hard one to find, recruit, pledge and keep is the girl who would be a good candidate for an NPC chapter but who grew up in a less white neighborhood, didn't go to the virtually all white high school with the great ACT scores and state championship teams and doesn't have parents with advanced degrees and plenty of connected white friends. But that challenge should be at least ATTEMPTED by these chapters who want to reflect their campus and their state more closely. Just my opinion, of course.

[DrPhil]

There are also Black women from predominantly Black environments, all-Black friends and family, who are academically successful, and whose parents are educated and successful.

Being from a predominantly or all-Black environment can make it more difficult (not impossible) for academic success and socioeconomic status to buffer the impact of race. This can include recs being more difficult (not impossible).

[LAblondeGPhi]

Originally Posted by pattyPNM123

I am trying to sound as humble as possible because I realize that being in any house at Alabama is better than not being in one at all. I realize being chosen to join one of these sororities is a privilege, and I can only hope I am given that privilege on the basis of my character.

I'm so glad that this thread has veered off in such a positive direction.

pattyPNM - You sound like an amazing young woman with just the right attitude for anyone going through Alabama recruitment to have. Lots of luck! Let us know how it goes (after bid day, of course)!

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by pattyPNM123

I hope I didn't overstep anything or offend anyone, I am trying to sound as humble as possible because I realize that being in any house at Alabama is better than not being in one at all. I realize being chosen to join one of these sororities is a privilege, and I can only hope I am given that privilege on the basis of my character. Once again I hope my post doesn't offend anyone.

Patty, I know that we will ALL be pulling for you during rush! I hope that you will come back to us with a very honest perspective of the recruitment process AFTER it is over. It would be especially enlightening for those that are involved as alumnae to see if things at UA are changing from a first hand perspective.

[ComradesTrue]

Yes, Patty, what a wonderful attitude and we are definitely pulling for you.

I will offer the suggestion to make this post your one and only contribution to GC until after recruitment. You will be rather easy to identify, so better to not risk anything that could impact your recruitment.

Continue to hang around and read but fade into lurkerdom until late August. We hope that you will have happy news to share with us come that time, so please do come back and let us know how you are doing.

[BAckbOwlsgIrl]

Here is my experience....
Shortly after the stoneage, when I was a PNM, I remember going through Rush at a large competitive school. I remember turning my head and seeing a black member on Set 2. No two women were a like.

As much as I WANTED to be a part of the blonde-cheerleader house or my legacy house, I was a little captivated by the diversity of that house. I was not targeting a house with a minority population. It just added to the appeal. Coming from an affluent bedroom community with few minorities, I was intrigued. Sure we had a few black people and a handful of hispanics but nothing like this. I had always wanted to be part of that cheerleader in-crowd. I think that a lot of PNMs still want that to this day.

I got dropped from blond-cheerleader house. One of the Jewish houses had a black member. However, to be honest, aside from her, they sounded like a bad episode of Jersey Shore and that was before the show. That was so not my style.

I am sure that you all know where this is going, but, I wound up pledging that diverse house. We were the most diverse house on campus; Latinas, Jews, Christians, Mormon and Blacks. I always wondered what those black sisters felt like pledging an NPC when clearly, they could have gone NPHC. I was never prouder of my chapter. It wasn't easy, far from it. I think that now days, it would be much easier for us. As for that first black sister that I saw during Set 2, she had the same major as me. I loved seeing her on campus. There were few sisters in our major.

As for that Blonde cheerleader house, the following year, they took a black woman. She was half white, half black as we were told. It was a big step for them and the Greek community as whole. The campus was shocked that if any of the chapters on campus would take a black, it would not be them. They were very WASPy. I remember talking to some fraternity guys about it, one whose girl friend was a member of that chapter and no one wanted to talk about. No one wanted to talk about diversity. It was as if, no one wanted to admit that the chapters weren't diverse, especially considering our location. A few of the fraternities had black members. Everyone had several Asians and Hispanics. But, albeit my chapter and another, noneof the sororities had blacks.

I really can say that our black sisters were treated just like everyone else. No one was offered a bid because she was black. We just liked them. I even remember learning a little about hair extensions.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by Low D Flat

That's right. I'm a higher ed professional. You don't need to be Greek to see who has joined where on campuses where you live and work. The topic here isn't chapter operations, voting, etc. Do you disagree with anything I've observed?

Sure, several times since you joined. Many mods have commented on it.

[als463]

Originally Posted by carnation

Sure, several times since you joined. Many mods have commented on it.

I didn't even realize Low D Flat wasn't Greek. That seems odd, to me, to be handing out advice regarding Greek life because you work in higher education but, never went Greek.

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by als463

I didn't even realize Low D Flat wasn't Greek. That seems odd, to me, to be handing out advice regarding Greek life because you work in higher education but, never went Greek.

Agree.

[chi-o_cat]

Originally Posted by BAckbOwlsgIrl

As for that Blonde cheerleader house, the following year, they took a black woman. She was half white, half black as we were told. It was a big step for them and the Greek community as whole. The campus was shocked that if any of the chapters on campus would take a black, it would not be them.

Wow.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by BAckbOwlsgIrl

I really can say that our black sisters were treated just like everyone else.

No. No you can't.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by als463

I didn't even realize Low D Flat wasn't Greek. That seems odd, to me, to be handing out advice regarding Greek life because you work in higher education but, never went Greek.

There is another poster on here doling out recruitment advice, and her signature really implies that she is Greek as well, and she isn't.

[LXA SE285]

LDF's perspectives may or may not be valid as regards general observations about Greek life, but to be fair I don't think she's ever specifically given anyone recruitment advice.

[DrPhil]

My outsider opinion/

I think this is another scapegoat thread in which people type in circles and are eager to find reasons to sing Kumbaya, which is what happened when pattypnm123 (who may or may not really be a pnm) posted. Pattypnm123's post wasn't really that positive and upbeat considering she was only saying "I'm a Black person from a white environment...I fit in with the white people...I hope I don't get discriminated against...I will stay upbeat and see what happens."

I think people were too eager to make that the eureka and kumbaya moment of this thread because race discussions apparently need eureka and kumbaya moments. Now the attention has turned to Low D Sharp, which I understand in a general sense, but that's another scapegoat from deeper racial issues pertaining to this thread topic. That's all.

/My outsider opinion