Controversy

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by Dove Gal
I am an African American young women in a NPC sorority. Let's just say that I did transfer to Auburn and I wanted to be active with my sorority there. Do you think that my house might get looked upon differently by the other sororities because I am African American? Do you think that there my be more African Americans going through rush at Auburn, because there is an African American in a sorority there? Would it help or hurt my chapter during the rush process? I just want to see your thoughts on this.

I've thought about this a lot, especially as a Native Southerner who has moved to the Northeast for school. I can say that my decision to go through NPC Recruitment (as opposed to staying independent or going another route) was influenced by the diversity of the chapters at my school, as well as the women rushing with me. As bad as it sounds, by the time college rolled around, I was sick and tired of being the only person of color in my school, classes, and organizations--being a groundbreaker or a token gets annoying fast. It wasn't assured, of course, that my potential sisters of color would welcome me with open arms, but I knew that my potential sisters had a history of tolerance--which was very important to me. I see it in potential new members, who will ask me those questions that they can't ask the other sisters about what it's really like to be a woman of color in an NPC group--and this is at a very liberal, tolerant school! So I can only imagine what it's like at less progressive institutions...

But, I suspect that if one hearty woman tries and succeeds in breaking the NPC color barrier at Auburn, UA, Ole Miss, UGA, and LSU, others will follow.

Sadly, I also believe that at least at the least progressive schools, it could impact not relations between other sororities, but between the sorority and other fraternities. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't the argument used by the discriminatory sorority members that, if they accepted a black member, that they would never be invited to do a mixer with certain fraternities? If there is a bond between a sorority and a fraternity (history of mixers, lots of dating or even marriage between members of those chapters), you can bet that it could be a concern.

Like other people have said before, I don't think outreach is the question. I don't think it would mean a hill of beans if my organization got all of our members of color to pose for an ad for the NPC in Jet or Ebony, encouraging college students to consider us. Forced integration would be worse. I think some systems will never be integrated--not because of the ignorance of some of its white members or the negative attitudes of some blacks on campus--but just because of the campus environment. I consider myself a bleeding heart liberal idealist, but about topics like this, I am sadly very realistic.