Pikes at Howard Update

[sigmadiva]

Originally posted by OhioCentaur
I hear them poodles make great companions til you piss them off....

So.True.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally posted by Erik P Conard
You are shooting your mouth off about something you have a
selective memory of...sure, there were traditional black fraternitiess in the 20s...were they on predominantly black campi,
and did they have any housing, size or presence?

Serious questions: Can you and Tom tell me why campi is the plural of campus, as opposed to campuses? To my knowledge, campi has a completely different meaning. Also, are you and Tom the same person or closely related?

By the 1920s, Black Greek Lettered Organizations had been founded on both predominently black and white campuses. The number of members were growing but were still small in comparison to nonhistorically Black GLOs.

Now...what does this really have to do with anything? We know that the "whites only" clause not only excluded Blacks, but other racial and ethnic groups. The addition of the "white Christian males" also excluded nonChristians. No one ever said that Blacks were the only group excluded. The history of race and ethnicity (and religion) in this country is why the exclusion of Blacks from predominently white institutions is so salient. This history (that includes the fact that Blacks were the largest minority group until recent years) is why SOME people are skeptical over an organization like PiKA. Maybe opinions would be different if it was an organization that had a history of civil rights activism and breaking down social barriers.

[mccoyred]

Originally posted by Erik P Conard
You are shooting your mouth off about something you have a
selective memory of...sure, there were traditional black fraternitiess in the 20s...were they on predominantly black campi,
and did they have any housing, size or presence?
The anger, the rage, the continuing claims that us whities today
must pay...well, I have paid enough. My table has been open and
several have dined and will continue. But the whiners and those
who will not join us...can go hungry.

1) Alpha Phi Alpha was founded in 1906 at Cornell University, not only a PWI but an Ivy League school.

2) Kappa Alpha Psi was founded in 1911 at Indiana University

3) The Gamma and Delta chapters of DST were chartered on PWI (University of Penn, an Ivy League school, and Iowa State, respectively) in 1914, I believe.

Next...

[OhioCentaur]

Originally posted by sigmadiva
So.True.

I cant knock it at all!

[OhioCentaur]

Originally posted by mccoyred
1) Alpha Phi Alpha was founded in 1906 at Cornell University, not only a PWI but an Ivy League school.

2) Kappa Alpha Psi was founded in 1911 at Indiana University

3) The Gamma and Delta chapters of DST were chartered on PWI (University of Penn, an Ivy League school, and Iowa State, respectively) in 1914, I believe.

Next...

Dont kill 'em like that... lol

[preciousjeni]

Originally posted by DSTCHAOS
Serious questions: Can you and Tom tell me why campi is the plural of campus, as opposed to campuses? To my knowledge, campi has a completely different meaning.

I was looking it up and found this to be interesting:

Off the top of my head? "Campi" is the correct Latin plural, but pretentious, and "campuses" is recommended for English usage. (I've never heard "campusi" and can say without fear that it's wrong.) Let's go to the videotape.

The 11C doesn't have a pluralization note on "campus," which leads me to believe that the standard English plural is in play ("campuses"). Garner, in his note on plurals: "One reliable guide is this: if in doubt, use the native-English plural ending in -s." He goes on to observe that pluralizing Latin nouns is a hypercorrection that often winds up in-correct (viz. "octopus," which many people pluralize as "octopi" when the actual Latin plural is "octopodes").

Long story short: "campuses."

And while I've got you all here -- if you do insist on hypercorrecting Latinate nouns, please pronounce them correctly. To cite the most frequently heard example, "alumni" is pronounced "alum-nee," NOT "alum-neye." "Alumnae" is pronounced "alum-neye," not "alum-nay." Masculine Latin plurals, "ee"; feminine Latin plurals, "eye." So-called Church Latin is not correct in that regard.

Also: the plural of "penis" is "penes," NOT "peni." "Peni" would indicate a plural of neuter noun "penus," which means supplies or provisions. Get cute with the Latin plurals all you want, but know what you're doing.

http://www.earlygirl.com/vi021804.shtml

See also: http://dacnet.rice.edu/projects/ling...dex=37&Type=II

[Optimist Prime]

Glad to hear that they are coming along. I feel their pain on this, no one wanted us on campus when we were founded. This is due probably, b/c other orgs know they will have to compete harder for members. Not only this, but most NPHC groups want the person who might pledge to come seek them out, research their history, etc. while most, if not all 'NIC' types will have their brothers go out and actively recruit.
This is what the other frats are afraid of.

[OhioCentaur]

^^

Another voice of reason!! But that guys name is flounder hahah... has a ring to it prime.

[jubilance1922]

Originally posted by Optimist Prime
Glad to hear that they are coming along. I feel their pain on this, no one wanted us on campus when we were founded. This is due probably, b/c other orgs know they will have to compete harder for members. Not only this, but most NPHC groups want the person who might pledge to come seek them out, research their history, etc. while most, if not all 'NIC' types will have their brothers go out and actively recruit.
This is what the other frats are afraid of.

They could be "afraid", but I'm not one of them so I won't speculate.

But as for the actively recruit v. let prospectives come to you debate: Its been working well for ALL the D9 orgs for almost 100 years now. There will still be men interested in D9 fraternities even if PiKA actively recruits the men in the Howard community. Each group will continue to use recruitment methods that work best for them.

[Wolfman]

Originally posted by Optimist Prime
Glad to hear that they are coming along. I feel their pain on this, no one wanted us on campus when we were founded. This is due probably, b/c other orgs know they will have to compete harder for members. Not only this, but most NPHC groups want the person who might pledge to come seek them out, research their history, etc. while most, if not all 'NIC' types will have their brothers go out and actively recruit.
This is what the other frats are afraid of.

I appreciated this point, not necesarily b/c it's valid point about the Pike situation at Howard but b/c it does speak to issues that are important: the role of recruitment in NPHC vs. NIC/NPC groups. True, on most campuses NPHC groups represent a "niche market" or their status is such that there is little need for more competitive means of gaining new members. Whereas, among other factors, the sheer numbers of NIC/ NPC groups demands a agressively proactive stance in recruitment, esp. when you have to maintain real property in many cases. My question is this: will there ever come a time when demographic changes and other factors demand that NPHC groups become more proactive in recruiting. I think it's a fallacy that the more proactive approach necessarily leads to weaker candidates. In fact, in some cases those who who present themselves for prospective membership are not the quality candidates one wants. About a month ago, an undergrad Omega brother at a local HBCU spoke to an audience at an Achievement Week program sponsored by my grad chapter. It was evident he was a very intelligent and talented brother--he's going places. One of his faculty mentors, a member of my grad chapter, told the audience when he got up to make his address that he and another Que faculty member recruited the young man for the undergrad chapter on campus. More of this has to happen!

[Erik P Conard]

English is constantly in change. The language has undergone a
lot of change thru radio and standardization of certain words. The
campi one I had never heard of as pretentious but sometimes used instead of campuses. I use both. I have studied Latin and
have a good romance language background. There are a goodly
number of English words from Latin and we constantly mix up the
singular with the plural...like criterion, criteria; datum, data, and
so on. However, the usage of the Latin amongst educated folk
may not necessarily be "elitist," or "snobbish" and frequently the
critics of such have unlikely darkened a foreign language classroom. We go to college to somewhat upgrade ourselves,
and if that be objectionable, take a look at yourself.
Campuses and campi are both acceptable, in my opinion. But if
you do not understand the differences, don't use 'em, hoss.

[Kevlar281]

"Howard has enough Greek organizations on campus that students have no need to establish new ones, especially ones that weren't designed with us in mind"

Just a quick question about something I read in the article. On my campus BGLOs are very selective/exclusive. Most average 15 members. Is it the same way at Howard?

[ladygreek]

Originally posted by Kevlar281
Just a quick question about something I read in the article. On my campus BGLOs are very selective/exclusive. Most average 15 members. Is it the same way at Howard?

Yes they are very selective at HU. But the chapters are still sizeable, because of the number of prospects. The school actually puts a cap on the size of a pledge line. So using DST as an example, when you have 300-400 qualified (on paper) students applying and you can only take 50, then yes you have to be very selective. But even if this wasn't the case--selectivity is a cornerstone of the D9.

Notice I haven't used the term exclusive, because we do accept members reagardless of race, creed, class, etc.

[PKPILZ003]

OK, we've gotten the history lesson on where HBGLO's got there start and we see where many people stand on this (Congrats on APhiA and their 100 years this year.. we've also beaten the "whites only clause" issue to death as well. Here's my 2 cents on the issue.

I'm a Phi Psi. I founded my chapter at DePaul university 15 years ago and I'm a 34 year old Black Man. I'm an appointed member of my fraternity's national Executive Council and one day I will probbaly be on the short list to become President. I teach at our leadership academies and our leadership school. I can speak to exactly what it's like to be 1 man on an island. I took crap from the black kids in school for selling out and from the white kids for "trying to be white." until I told them why - i believed in what Phi Kappa Psi was telling me - just like you all did when you joined whatever group you joined. you bought it - you drank the kool aid and said, give me some letters.

I am the only male member of my family that's college educated and not an Alpha. I did that becuase I wanted to start something as opposed to join anything - i'm not a joiner; im a leader. I hope the guys they get for Pike are that way as well. At my fraternity's last 2 national conventions, i suggested that we do what Pike has now done. What saddens me is that when a predominetely white group comes on a black campus (Sigma Pi did the same thing at Middle tennessee state a few years back) the campus fights back instead of accepting that competition breeds grouwth for all. Not everyone at Howard fits the mold of the D9 - so they needed something else - I'm only upset that the something else isn't Green and Red.

To my Greek Brothers and Sisters at Howard - just becuase someone was an ass before doesn't mean they are still an ass-yeah, they were racist back in the day - every white group was, either with or without "the clause"; but give them a chance and see how they help the fabric of your campus before your castigate them for it.

[StatPhDSAE]

Originally posted by PKPILZ003

To my Greek Brothers and Sisters at Howard - just becuase someone was an ass before doesn't mean they are still an ass-yeah, they were racist back in the day - every white group was, either with or without "the clause"; but give them a chance and see how they help the fabric of your campus before your castigate them for it.

Very well put. As the climate of American colleges keeps changing, fraternal groups are forced to change as well.
One can only hope that steps like this will lead to a more diverse
future, otherwise fraternal organizations will definitely suffer.