GA State College White Student Union

[pshsx1]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I'm not a fan of the "why can't we all be color-blind?" approach. I think it encourages us to accept a false uniformity by asking us to ignore the things about "them" that (1) make "them" who they are, and (2) make them different from "us." At best, it is disrespectful; at worst, it carries an expectation that everything would be okay if everyone could just be like "us." (As in, perhaps, suggesting that it's somehow wrong that the NPHC don't act like "the rest of us.")

You said this flawlessly. I'm probably going to quote this elsewhere at some point, if you don't mind.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by pshsx1

You said this flawlessly. I'm probably going to quote this elsewhere at some point, if you don't mind.

Thanks, and be my guest.

[DrPhil]

I agree with amIblue? about badgeguy.

Originally Posted by StealthMode

Is it fair that it's not PC to have a White Student Union?

It isn't about fair and PC. It is about the fact that the majority doesn't need reminders that they are the majority. White people are everywhere. White people do not forget their presence and neither do nonwhites. That doesn't mean that white people do not fall on hard times but these hard times are rarely a direct or indirect result of "whiteness."

That is also why there is no Heterosexual Student Union. Most organizations are either directly or indirectly based on heterosexuality. Do heterosexuals need another reminder that they are the power majority around the world? Do heterosexuals need another reminder that their sexuality and interactions are not monitored and controlled as the LGBT community? Nope. And we can apply that same logic to any other power dominant group.

[StealthMode]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

It is about the fact that the majority doesn't need reminders that they are the majority.

I was referring to the fairness of the situation if White students were the minority, as the young man quoted in the article said:

"If we are already minorities on campus and are soon to be minorities in this country why wouldn't we have the right to advocate for ourselves and have a club just like every other minority?" Sharp, 18, said."

He seems to be have figured out that he can pull the minority card by adding all the other ethnicity percentages together to intentionally outnumber his own group but I was trying to pretend I didn't notice.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by StealthMode

I was referring to the fairness of the situation if White students were the minority, as the young man quoted in the article said:

He seems to be have figured out that he can pull the minority card by adding all the other ethnicity percentages together to intentionally outnumber his own group but I was trying to pretend I didn't notice.

Soror, thanks for clarifying.

You already know that white people who are the minority on campus can just leave campus from time to time to be reminded that they are relatively empowered whites. There is no shortage of reminders once they leave campus. On some campuses in which whites are the population minority, whites remain the power majority. You don't have to be the population majority to be the power majority---South Africa, anyone? That doesn't mean that things will always be in white people's favor and that whites will never struggle. It just means there are more buffers to being told "no" or falling on hard times.

I have seen HBCUs bend over backwards to have an abundance of white faculty and white students. These schools can make more money and increase their ranking if they are "historically" Black but not predominantly Black in terms of its most successful and money making programs, including graduate programs. PWIs that focus on diversity are typically not doing so to increase the school's competitiveness, academic ranking, and finances. The only exception is when attracting certain East Indian and certain Asian populations.

And I wish people (not you) would stop saying whites will ever be a minority (power-wise or population-wise) in this country. That is not true but it works for good dramatics and to scare whites against "brown immigration" and into "white pronatalism". Hispanic is an ethnic category that includes white Hispanics. Whites can find solace in the fact that there is no shortage of non-English and English speaking whites from around the world. As for Spanish speakers, there are plenty of whites from South America, the Caribbean, and Spain to buffer those "scary non-English speakers that are sending the U.S.A to hell." An example is one of my Cuban friends hates it when I say "Afro-Cubana/o" because it is technically redundant. I say "Afro-Cubana/o" because there are plenty of people from these countries who consider themselves white (even if they call it something other than "white").

[DGTess]

Originally Posted by badgeguy

Georgia State Student Forms White Student Union

On a side note, when I was in school, our chapter tried repeatedly to contact Alpha Phi Alpha, and Kappa Alpha Psi to have parties together, but we never got any responses. We were a brand new chapter on campus and maybe we didn't approach the groups correctly, or weren't clear about how parties worked with other groups at that time.

I had the same issue in the 70s at my campus. We - the Unified Fraternal Organization (we didn't have separate Panhellenic and IFC except on paper), the dean of students (who was black, but not a member of one of the chapters on our campus), and the student government representative - all tried to find a framework for the groups to work and socialize together, but got no response other than "not interested" from the three or four traditionally black organizations.

I would have liked to hear it had gotten better.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by DGTess

I had the same issue in the 70s at my campus. We - the Unified Fraternal Organization (we didn't have separate Panhellenic and IFC except on paper), the dean of students (who was black, but not a member of one of the chapters on our campus), and the student government representative - all tried to find a framework for the groups to work and socialize together, but got no response other than "not interested" from the three or four traditionally black organizations.

I would have liked to hear it had gotten better.

I think things have gotten better.

However, I would like to point out that no single organization is under any obligation to have an event with any other organization. When you were an active member, did your sorority accept every invitation from every fraternity for a mixer, etc? We didn't always accept every invitation. Was it because we didn't like the fraternity or sorority asking us? Of course not. You can't always work everything out and do everything with everybody. No matter your letters or council, a group's primary obligation is to their own members and their own mission, however those things may be defined. Individuals can be (and are) friends on their own time across organization lines and council lines.

When BG's fraternity invited Alpha and Kappa to have parties, Alpha and Kappa were under no obligation to do so nor were they under any obligation to explain why they couldn't or wouldn't. Just in the same way if my KKG chapter turned down an invitation from ABC or XYZ fraternity when I was in college. Unless the Alphas and Kappas came straight out and said "we're not hanging with you crackers," I wouldn't have assumed it was a race thing.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I think things have gotten better.

However, I would like to point out that no single organization is under any obligation to have an event with any other organization. When you were an active member, did your sorority accept every invitation from every fraternity for a mixer, etc? We didn't always accept every invitation. Was it because we didn't like the fraternity or sorority asking us? Of course not. You can't always work everything out and do everything with everybody. No matter your letters or council, a group's primary obligation is to their own members and their own mission, however those things may be defined. Individuals can be (and are) friends on their own time across organization lines and council lines.

When BG's fraternity invited Alpha and Kappa to have parties, Alpha and Kappa were under no obligation to do so nor were they under any obligation to explain why they couldn't or wouldn't. Just in the same way if my KKG chapter turned down an invitation from ABC or XYZ fraternity when I was in college. Unless the Alphas and Kappas came straight out and said "we're not hanging with you crackers," I wouldn't have assumed it was a race thing.

ETA: I chuckled at your Edit. Kappa, Kappa, Kappa ... but don't assume it's a race thing lol

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

ETA: I chuckled at your Edit. Kappa, Kappa, Kappa ... but don't assume it's a race thing lol

Yeah, that didn't come out quite right the first time.

[DGTess]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I think things have gotten better.

However, I would like to point out that no single organization is under any obligation to have an event with any other organization. When you were an active member, did your sorority accept every invitation from every fraternity for a mixer, etc?

Of course not - but not a single work OR social event in years? That's not just scheduling.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by DGTess

Of course not - but not a single work OR social event in years? That's not just scheduling.

Did he say it was years? That they actually tried for YEARS to schedule something with these groups? Because at some point, that's just stupid to keep trying when you keep getting turned down. Even so, that doesn't mean that it was due to race that they were declined. It could be that those extending the invitation were socially challenged. That's as good a conjecture to make as thinking it was race-related on the part of the invitees.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by DGTess

Of course not - but not a single work OR social event in years? That's not just scheduling.

I think you need to understand that there is just a different set of priorities.

Its just not uber-critical for NPHC orgs to have socials, mixers, and formals. We don't base our year on social events.

[Sen's Revenge]

And, you know, not to be snarky.... and it's been said more politely above....

But maybe we just didn't want to?

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

I think you need to understand that there is just a different set of priorities.

Its just not uber-critical for NPHC orgs to have socials, mixers, and formals. We don't base our year on social events.

This and perhaps other reasons that have been discussed on GC over the years. I always find it funny when predominantly white organizations cannot handle being told "no" or being ignored completely. Welcome to the club.

Speaking of clubs, White Student Unions are a good place for whites to express outrage over being told "no" or being ignored. Not really.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

And, you know, not to be snarky.... and it's been said more politely above....

But maybe we just didn't want to?

*lightbulb*

Sometimes chapters just arent that into you.
Or perhaps those chapters are proving a point: we don't need you to have a good time. In fact, we never did.
It's been said already, but there's a lot of privledge in extending an invite to a group you typically don't do "business" with and assume its an automatic yes. Because how could they say no to us? *outrage* I think it's normal for both BGLO chapters to think "why us? Why now?" and be well within their right to say no.


Yeah: GLO =/= GLO. To be superficial, Ive been to white sorority and fraternity parties. They're different. Different enough that collaborating wouldnt make sense.