<p>You can find out what %, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. A lot depends on what else there is to do. NU is about one third, but if someone doesn’t want to be, no one cares, it’s all good. At other places, Greek life dominates social life. And it’s very different in the south where it’s all taken more seriously.</p>
<p>^^zoosermom, sometimes it’s listed in the school’s common data set, under student life.</p>
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<p>Oh please, are you serious?</p>
<p>alh,
My D is at Yale, where as a freshman, she is roomed with 5 other girls who will be in her residential college all 4 years. She decided to go through rush because her 5 suitemates like to stay in and play Uno and watch TV on Saturday nights, and she wants a more active social life. Now she has her res. college friends and her sorority friends.</p>
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<p>The relevant time frame for most girls, however, is the 4 years they are on campus, not what the sorority’s national said or did umpteen years ago. </p>
<p>Anyway, are there really sororities these days where a black girl would be discriminated against solely because of her skin color? Well, then, shame on them for being so backwards – they are the ones that are woefully out of date, out of touch, and there’s not a thing “prestigious” about them at all. Let people who are that backwards hang together, frankly. Keep them out of the normal girls’ hair. Who wants to be around people like that anyway? That’s a club they can keep.</p>
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<p>Without discriminatory clauses, however, I can still easily see how some sororities might tend to attract, say, NY / NJ / Long Island girls, with more of a stereotypical in-your-face approach, and another sorority might tend to attract, say, more corn-fed, small-town midwestern types that you take home to mother, and yet another might tend to attract, say, more west coast laid-back types and another more granola-earthy types, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.</p>
<p>Just read this entire thread…it actually has some very valid points regarding the positive aspects of joining a sorority. Someone eles cited it a few pages before…just thought I would cite it again…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/121020-rush-sorority-not-rush.html?highlight=bid[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/121020-rush-sorority-not-rush.html?highlight=bid</a></p>
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<p>As of 2000, no black women had ever been accepted in a white sorority at the University of Georgia:</p>
<p>[UGA</a> Sorority Suspended During Discrimination Investigation - University of Georgia - Brief Article | Black Issues in Higher Education | Find Articles at BNET](<a href=“http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_16_17/ai_66380100/]UGA”>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_16_17/ai_66380100/)</p>
<p>That was ten years ago, but it doesn’t look like much has changed. I don’t see any black pledges in this year’s pledges, do you? I see a lot of white blondness.</p>
<p>MODERATOR NOTE: (YouTube links removed as per Terms of Service; see post #617)</p>
<p>SWTCAT. I agree. Let’s add Ellebud’s greek chat site.</p>
<p>from my post 254:
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<p>This is what I had always been taught to believe was the “point” of sororities. In addition to providing advice on appropriate attire, some groups have lessons on manners and common courtesy. Even if I am incapable of following the model myself, I have a pretty good idea of what defines “lady-like” behavior. So normally I would consider that also to be an advantage of a sorority experience.</p>
<p>I know that some of our founding fathers were slave owners. This is obviously a horrible, disgusting institution. But they were great men of their time, and I strongly believe that if they were morphed into this time and place their outlook would be very different but their intellectual greatness would be intact.</p>
<p>When we bought our house an historical (for lack of a better word) document was included in our title/escrow papers. Our CC and Rs (Covenants and Restrictions) specifically forbade Jews, Asians, people of Mexican descent, and Negroes (their terminology in the documents) to live in our city. IN ADDITION, it specifically cited that Negroes, Asians, and people of Mexican descent employed as household help must leave the city limits by 10 p.m. unless DIRECTLY working in the home with special permission. (in other words, no live in help sleeps in the home unless white and Christian).</p>
<p>Under those rules I suspect the only qualifiers that are currently living in the neighborhood are the purebred dogs of English descent. </p>
<p>Whatever the founders of the sorority felt or thought about different races and religions has to be viewed (not admired or condoned) in the context of the time. What should be examined is what is happening in today’s world.</p>
<p>I’ll see you that, and raise you the fact that 25 years ago, in a northern school setting, both my house and H’s house had black members … in fact, both had black presidents … and no one batted an eye or thought twice about it.</p>
<p>The fact that it’s Georgia and Ole Miss isn’t exactly lost on me. Do you think … maybe, just maybe … we’re talking about regional differences in culture, and you’re trying to make it about Greeks when it’s about the region?</p>
<p>My site!!! Thank you I think…GreekChat does offer some good insights into Greek life on MANY campuses. NPC and NPHC Greeks are represented as well. And unless someone choses to say what group they are in you do not necessarily know.</p>
<p>ellebud, knowing nothing about Greek life I have visited GreekChat many times since D decided to join one. Very diverse representations of sorority life can be found there and you can really see how even the same sorority differs from campus to campus. It was a great site to recommend. Far superior to the garbage postings that can be found elsewhere.</p>
<p>^^ellebud - lol - I should have said the site to which ellebud posted a link. And thank you again for posting it! I think it is wonderfully informative.</p>
<p>“Oh please, are you serious?”</p>
<p>Quite. Would you like to counter the substance of my post?</p>
<p>“Hanna, I think the gals in the Divine Nine (of which I have many friends) are perfectly happy in their exclusive sororities.”</p>
<p>Exclusive? Not racially. There are members of all colors in the Divine Nine. At any rate, they are explicitly dedicated to the uplift of the black community (see, e.g., AKA’s dedication to the black family as one of its platforms). Anyone devoted to that cause may seek membership. NPC sororities don’t have any comparable mission to serve white people.</p>
<p>“Do the exclusive eating clubs (etc) at HYP particularly care whether they are as diverse as the uni overall?”</p>
<p>Most of them don’t, and as I’ve said many times, I think the clubs at Harvard are a negative about the university, and it would be better off if they didn’t exist. That’s far more than I’m saying about the NPC at Harvard or elsewhere.</p>
<p>“The relevant time frame for most girls, however, is the 4 years they are on campus, not what the sorority’s national said or did umpteen years ago.”</p>
<p>Perhaps. But many of us put quite a bit of focus on history when we were choosing a university. For instance, there are a lot of threads around here on which university pioneered the inclusion of women. The Yales and Princetons of the world trumpet their importance in U.S. history and famous alumni like William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson. Many minority students at universities that host NPC chapters considered attending “historically black” colleges that students value as much for what they’ve stood for over time as what they achieve today. It’s really not crazy for a nonwhite to feel some concern about history, especially when that concern is dismissed as foolish. It’s also not crazy to go to the NPC website at their school (let’s take Illinois, the largest NPC system and a very diverse Northern campus, as an example) [University</a> of Illinois Panhellenic Council](<a href=“http://www.illiniphc.com/]University”>http://www.illiniphc.com/), and think “Oh. They’re not looking for people like me.”</p>
<p>Referring back to my post #594, I said “IF sororities want to be as diverse as the universities that host them…” I said IF, because perhaps they don’t care either way. If they are happy with the primarily white status quo on most campuses (not just in the South), they should just say so. Based on their actions, that seems to be the case.</p>
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<p>“Regular” NPC sororities may certainly have a way to go in terms of diversity, but you can’t convince me that the black sororities are “more diverse.” And their activities are specifically around black-oriented themes! </p>
<p>I do acknowledge that a young black woman has to grapple with whether she wants to be in a predominantly black subculture at campus or whether she wants to be in a mixed-race subculture, and to what extent she wishes to participate in black-only clubs vs mixed-race clubs, but I think that’s an issue that she has to deal with at any good-sized campus (unless she is going to an HBCU) - regardless of whether or not there is a Greek system there. And I do see your point and am trying to acknowledge my white privilege here.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fong:
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<p>The basic concept of sorority is exclusion. If it was not that then there was no need for sororities. Whatever may anyone say or try to convince the fact is that the sororities are there to provide controlled environment for like minded people to hang around which is only possible by excluding the non conforming people out.</p>
<p>The exclusion is not necessarily enforced based on a strict criteria but happens by virtue of the environment. People who rush knows to begin with what they are getting into so they either don’t apply to sororites that won’t be a fit for them after acceptance.</p>
<p>I can give two analogies for the concept.
- Every big city in the world has areas labelled as Chinatown, Little Italy, etc… No one exclude people of other races or culture to move to such areas but by virtue of the culture of the area only like minded people move to it. These communities don’t represent the city demographics.
- Take cases of private independent schools, the schools don’t exclude anyone but by virtue of their enviroment many affording families don’t apply because of rigorous environment and many families don’t apply because of economic reasons. These schools demographic are not representative of the cities demographics these schools are situated in.
DD High School city demographics have more than 30% Hispanic population but the school had less than 5%.</p>
<p>Similarly sororities provide a place for like minded people to hang together without worrying about non conforming people.</p>
<p>It should be left to individual student to participate or not in such sororities. I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong.</p>
<p>It was up to DD and if she wants to be part of it then she is the one going to college and not me.</p>
<p>The removal of two YouTube links several posts above demonstrates clearly why College Confidential has rules in Terms of Service (TOS) against such hyperlinks to pictures or videos where we cannot vet the source of information, with YouTube named specifically in the TOS. Nor can any other member disagree with posted graphics unless they, too are able to understand the source.</p>
<p>Nobody can know whether a group of running girls, racially homogeneous, in front of a sorority house represents a complete pan of the rush that year or a video made by one person featuring only her group of friends.</p>
<p>Note that even as I typed this, someone has already taken issue with the YouTube vid; now I’m going to edit that quoted link down as well.</p>
<p>Posts on CC are moderated as per Terms of Service, reviewable under FAQ.</p>
<p>An example of an acceptable use of things learned on Youtube might be this sentence: “Take a look at the most recent pledges at UGA and X house on YouTube. I see many blondes and no evidence of racial diversity.” Then readers may, or may not, chase down that reference by going themselves to YouTube and looking up videos according to keywords (such as UGA, sorority…) in the poster’s written sentence. In other words, stating opinions is always fine; linking directly to unverifiable sources (e.g., Youtube vids, webblogs…) is prohibited by TOS.</p>
<p>“you can’t convince me that the black sororities are “more diverse.””</p>
<p>I wouldn’t try to convince you of that, since it isn’t true. They are overwhelmingly black, in keeping with their mission, but not exclusively so. They really do have members of all colors in all nine, just not a whole lot of them. There are many all-black chapters.</p>
<p>If I had a daughter going to U of Illinois, I wouldn’t discourage her from rushing. But going back to the title of the thread, I do see the disproportionate whiteness as a disadvantage she ought to think about.</p>
<p>I asked D1 if her sorority was racially diversed last night when she was home for a visit. She had to think for a minute then said, “Yes, I think 8% of girls are biracial and probably 50% are non-white. It only goes to show you there are pretty girls in every race.” I was going to say something, but I didn’t.</p>
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<p>Sure, there will certainly be people of every race and persuasion who will reject membership in something based on “principal,” in this case, objecting to the past discriminatory practices of that institution. As time passes, people tend to evolve, and most do not do this. If it were still a common practice and rational mindset, then applicants like you, Hanna, would not attend Harvard or go to law school, would they? </p>
<p>If sororities are less racially integrated than the campus at large, that is because we humans tend to be attracted to those most like us, both in looks and habits. Look at your own college roommates, old and current friends and all your relatives by marriage! Are you indignant when you see 5 Asian girls rooming together, or 4 Black girls sharing an apartment or 6 Hispanic girls out together for the evening? Why not?</p>