Advice for blacks considering NOT joining a BGLO

[tragic2k]

This is a warning for brothers and sisters doing research on joining a GLO. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE OF GLO's!

Before pledging my house, I looked deeply into the 9 and into the house I was interested in. I did several weeks of research into the WGLO and saw that nationally, it had many black members. In the end, it was a difficult decision so I decided to give the GLO a try, thinking that I would just depledge if it wasnt for me. I should have known better.

During rush everyone told me the whole bullcrap about how they "strive for diversity" or how "we treat brothers all the same". However this is not the case.

How can an organization treat everyone the same when it was created in a society that subconconsciously teaches us to place a value on someone because of the color of their skin?

I thought that alumni support as well as life commitment were important in joining a fraternity. "We have the greatest Alumni support", said the rush chair, "We also believe that members of this fraternity are members for life, not just up until you graduate".

These of course were lies too. The local chapter had TERRIBLE alumni support (so much that nationals recently had to step in) and many of the current members intend on doing NOTHING for the group after graduation.

During pledgeship, many people were "supportive" of my decision not to join a BGLO. It must have been so that I could give them rent money for the next year.

I am treated differently. Not blatently, but in little noticeable ways that most people who werent in my situation would not notice.

I feel like an "asset" (as in diversity percentile) more then I feel like a respected brother. People who hid their ignorant views came out in full force AFTER initiation.

Yes I sound like a whiney brat who was impatient but I tell you, that is not the case. I did LOTS of research into this and I thought I made the most educated decision. However, I didnt use common sense. Its a well known fact that white fraternities LIE during the rush process in order attract NUMBERS rather then brothers.

BGLO's may not be upfront about their entire "process" to non-members, but they certainly wont ever lie to you what they're about and what their purpose is.

The house is also becoming increasingly superficial. Diversity? After my pledge class was initiated, they decided they wanted to become more popular by only admitting cookie cutter, preppy, fratboys. I hardly fit into this group. When I come back in 5 years, what am I going to look forward to? I doubt that I'll see people like me.

Dont get me wrong, I love some of the gusy in the house, but overall, this bond was not for me.

Unfortunately, there's no way out because I too believe that a bond is for life.

If I had two wishes though...

Why am I writing this annoying post? In case some naieve freshmen are going through rush and wanted to know the experience of someone who had a similar situation.

[PenguinTrax]

It sounds like you had a poor experience on the campus where you pledged. I truly believe that is the exception, not the rule and it is wrong of you to try and sour the opinions of others.

Every chapter of every fraternity is different from the same chapter on another campus - making a blanket statement that minority members aren't really welcome in a predominately white fraternity is oversimplifies the matter to an extreme.

In addition, most of us find the term WGLO offensive as all NPC and NIC member organizations have diverse memberships. True, the membership rolls may not be as diverse on some campuses as on others, but remember, a chapter cannot ask someone to join, if that potential member has not expressed an interest in that chapter. If more minority men and women showed more interest in what you call 'white' GLOs, you would see more diversity.

A person joins a group where they feel most comfortable, regardless of the skin color of the members. There are several white men and women that strongly believe in the principles of the Divine Nine organizations - if one of these members had a bad experience and posted a message similar to yours, the BGLO members would probably feel the same as I do. If you believe in an organizations mission, ideals and goals, that's what matters most to the existing members.


Barbara
Rush Forum Moderator

[sigmagrrl]

I am sorry you had a bad experience, but don't push it on every other minority who may be seeking membership in an NPC or NIC organization. Just from what you "said", it seems you were going into this with a less than positive attitude:"I figured I could just depledge"...Well, this sounds as if your whole heart wasn't in it. I have had an excellent experience. I am a national officer and president of my alum chapter. These were not given to me because I am a "token", its because I KICK ASS!

[mgdzkm433]

Barbara, quite nicely put. I have to agree. I am sorry that you had a bad experience, it's truely a tragedy, in my eyes, that you were 'tricked', so to say, into believing that your chapter of your fraternity stood for something you believed in. However, you can not sum up the entire 'white'GLO (as you call them) experience by what your one chapter did. You are one person, with one experience. Surely you don't believe that ALL GLO's are this way.

"During rush everyone told me the whole bullcrap about how they "strive for diversity" or how "we treat brothers all the same". However this is not the case."

This is the case for most GLO's. Again, you had one experience. You can not speak for every member of all GLO's with this statement


"How can an organization treat everyone the same when it was created in a society that subconconsciously teaches us to place a value on someone because of the color of their skin?"

Weren't BGLO's created to uplift the Black Community? I have nothing against BGLO's OR their cause, but you can't say that they weren't created to place value on a group of people with one skin color. Besides that, many GLO's today are almost, if not 100 years old or more. Things change. GLO's today do not share the same mentality or belief system as their founders on EVERYTHING.

"I thought that alumni support as well as life commitment were important in joining a fraternity. "We have the greatest Alumni support", said the rush chair, "We also believe that members of this fraternity are members for life, not just up until you graduate."

Sometimes alumni don't contribute to their chapter after graduation. I, for instance, live 8 hrs. from my chapter. I have a job, a fiance, a house, a different life. That doesn't mean that I don't support my organizations, it just means I'm not active in my original chapter. Most (if not all) national GLO's DO consider you a member for life, even if you don't participate in anything after graduation--or initiation for that matter.

"BGLO's may not be upfront about their entire "process" to non-members, but they certainly wont ever lie to you what they're about and what their purpose is."

I'm not saying they do, but how would you know if you've never been through the BGLO experience.

"Why am I writing this annoying post? In case some naieve freshmen are going through rush and wanted to know the experience of someone who had a similar situation."

It's good to let people know your situation. It's a learning expeirence not only for you, but for many of us. My only advice would be to step back are read what you wrote. You seem to sum up all "white" GLO's with your single experience. Your one experience can't speak for every person's experience. What you just said might also turn someone away from the greek system entirely, then they would be missing out on a chance of a lifetime. I'm sure there are many people out there that joined GLO's of a different ethnic background that are perfectly happy with what they chose. Don't try to speak for them all.

[PositivelyAKA]

i'm not really susprised that you had the experience that you did, BUT i'm sure some minorities will not have the bad experience that you had, some will have a great experience, it ALWAYS varies from campus to campus, now nationally i think thats another story, perhaps you should have looked at various chapters in your area to see if they were also supportive of you as a minority or if your chapter was just more liberal or had a certain agenda in that area, you won't be in undergrad forever so its important to know that regardless of where you came in or your race that you are accepted nationally that would have been a key prerequisite for me in considering that organization.
anyway please everyone pledge whatever organization you feel most connected to. i could not see myself in any other organization of that i had no doubts.

[12dn94dst]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by tragic2k:
This is a warning for brothers and sisters doing research on joining a GLO. DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE OF GLO's!

OK, what "hype" are you referring to? the only hype i know of is what a prospective creates based on what he/she sees in an organization.

Before pledging my house, I looked deeply into the 9 and into the house I was interested in. I did several weeks of research into the WGLO and saw that nationally, it had many black members. In the end, it was a difficult decision so I decided to give the GLO a try, thinking that I would just depledge if it wasnt for me. I should have known better.

IMO, you could not have looked that deeply into the 5 NPHC fraternities and the NIC house you were interested in if you now find so much with which to be disappointed. As you now know, researching an organization is much more than what it's doing nationally. Yes, that's a big part but your first impression is the chapter on your campus. You may ADORE the organization's goals, but LOATHE the members on that campus. SO what does one do? Join on the alumni level if that option is available, wait until there's a better group of guys in the chapter, or join anyway and make the best of it.


How can an organization treat everyone the same when it was created in a society that subconconsciously teaches us to place a value on someone because of the color of their skin?

I hate to break this to you, but the NPHC organizations were founded in the very same society of which you speak. Part of what we did was unite to fight against the blatant injustices of the past and now we unite to battle the subtle ones of the present.

I thought that alumni support as well as life commitment were important in joining a fraternity. "We have the greatest Alumni support", said the rush chair, "We also believe that members of this fraternity are members for life, not just up until you graduate".

Another news flash: although undergraduate NPHC chapters have an alumni chapter or two nearby, they are, for the most part, self-sufficient. We don't have alumni funneling money into our chapters, this is not to say that all NPC and NIC chapters do. We raise all of the funds we use to operate ourselves through dues, step show winnings, and other fund raisers. Don't be confused though, we are not "wallowing" in cash. Most of the money we raise goes back into the chapter to fund our service projects.

These of course were lies too. The local chapter had TERRIBLE alumni support (so much that nationals recently had to step in) and many of the current members intend on doing NOTHING for the group after graduation.

This is probably something you could have found out during your research.

I am treated differently. Not blatently, but in little noticeable ways that most people who werent in my situation would not notice.

Unfortunately, the world is like that. It's not limited to just your house.


BGLO's may not be upfront about their entire "process" to non-members, but they certainly wont ever lie to you what they're about and what their purpose is.

Valid point. Most likely, we won't tell you ANYTHING about the process other than when the rush/smoker is, maybe not even that. But we will tell you what we're about.


All in all, I am terribly sorry your greek experience has not been a good one so far. But to come on a message board and discourage minorities from joining an NPC or NIC organization is not cool. Whether you like your house or not, you're greek, you're in the ssystem. By your own admission, you don't plan to leave. I do appreciate you taking the time to post your experience. Although it could have been more positive, it speaks volumes to the importance of choosing your organization carefully, regardless of the demographic.

------------------
Kelli
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
12-Delta Nu-94
MAL, Southern Region
Savannah State University c/o 1997

[prettypoodle6]

I am very sorry about your experiences and wished that your situation and those of others in your shoes did not happen, but just as PositivelyAKA, I am not surprised.

There have been a few instances on my campus where people joined NPC/NIC organizations, depledged and then sought out membership in the Divine 9--for the same exact reasons..... one girl was even told by one of the orgs that there were no black sororities on campus (mind you we have all 4!) so if she wanted to go greek she would have to rush.....

PLEASE PLEASE make sure you know what you are getting into before you make life altering decisions like choosing a fraternity/sorority to join, WHATEVER IT IS!!!!

**Being naive or uninformed is not an excuse.

[Kymberleigh]

All "WGLO's" cannot be viewed as one organization, and I feel that some people are doing that here. I know that I chose my org., because it was unique and because it stood for what I believed in and wanted to strive towards. Not all NPC or IFC orgs. are the same and they cannot be grouped as one. How mad would those members of NPHC orgs. be if they were grouped all as one. I know so many members of all GLO's and BGLO's who pride themselves on their letters not on the NPHC or IFC or NPC crest, as important as that might be to them.


Much Love,

Kymberleigh
Delta Epsilon
Delta Delta Delta

[shadokat]

Well, I can't say I agree with your stand in generalizing "white" vs. "black" GLO's. I know that my chapter had white, black, asian, and latino members. The African-American women who joined were treated differently, not by us, but by her friends who pledged BGLO's.

I don't think this is necessarily the norm, nor do I imagine it's an isolated incident. I advise anyone going through rush to be conscious of what they are doing and be sure to do your research.

[kdgirlie]

It's really sad that a belief for the need of seperation exists. It is also sad that you expirenced such a negative enviroment in a GLO. But perhaps you were bringing negative expectations with you. You also can still change the outcome of your organization as well as your expirences. Bring a positive aura and remember they did choose you so they liked something about you.

[AKA_Monet]

Tragic2K,

Your decision to join something outside of yourself and your chosen identity has been your undoing...

Just because you've gone thru this GLO's process, you cannot even begin to be considered for membership into ANY mainstream BGLO or any black professional greek-lettered organizations such as, Sigma Pi Phi Boule or Links. The reason is because the age of the members will not understand you choice you made during your college years. And you cannot "depledge" because you think you've made a mistake...

It's sad to say, but once you sellout, you are asked to get the hell out...

[AlphaChiGirl]

So, you're saying that I couldn't be a Link, even though it's not a Greek-lettered organization? I thought the membership criteria for that group was completely different from those of BGLO's, because it's a professional/service group. Is this in their bylaws, or is it unspoken?

tragic2k, you can only speak for yourself. I am very happy with my chosen group, and I feel very strongly that I am connected to my heritage. Unlike what many of you think, it is possible.

[crimsonsoror1913]

Tragic thats a very tragic story. But it holds true, to thine ownself be true. Never sleep on the fact, that the nine started for a reason and to this day are truly devoted to promoting sisterhood and brotherhood. AKA Monet said it best. When you sell out you get the hell out.

I love my DST!
OOOOO-OOOP

[xp2k]

I'm with you AlphaChiGirl. I think Tragic2K is out of line dispelling ALL GLO's as being bad for minorities. True, you should look more in depth into something so serious as greek life but it is in poor taste to generalize ALL GLO's in ALL greek systems at ALL campuses. I happen to be a minority, close to my community and active in my fraternity.

And as for you AKAMonet, I've responded to one of your posts before. I wont go into the severe issues that you seem to have but I will say that your "those is who sell out/get the hell out" bit is not only inappropriate, but a little overdone. If you truly cared about our people, it wouldnt matter what GLO they joined as long as they had the same values and purposes to uplift the community.

Your negativeness truly makes me wonder whether or not you are even human.

[loviest95]

Well that is why I love my AKA!!
I am not even sure what would motivate brothers or sisters to go the WGLO way.
During my Freshman year at a redneck school in Texas (TAMU) my roommate was "rushing"
Delta Zeta. All they ever did was drink and party.
I knew that the BGLO tradition of community service was for me

It is just so amazing to me
WGLO's even let people outside of their brotherhood / sisterhood sport their letters...

AKA Pink and Green the Prettiest colors I have ever seen!!
SKEE-WEEE!!!!!!!!