<p>Recently I was reading an article about African Americans at the University of Alabama being denied the equal opportunity to join traditionally white sororities and fraternities. My question is just to see if traditionally white organizations accept African Americans at UNC and how prevalent or instrumental are the historically black fraternities and sororities if their are any?
I hope this question doesn't come of ignorant. I was just wondering thanks.</p>
<p>Additionally, I was wondering about Granville and it’s diversity. So far I’ve notice Granville is geared towards the wealthier Greek crowd, while South Campus seems more orientated for the typical average joe college kid. Does anyone know the stats on Granville and diversity. I don’t mean to be rude with my question’s it just I am not from the South and my parents and family members keep telling me to be very careful in the environment I choose to live in.</p>
<p>I am not Greek, so my experience may not be as extensive, but a good handful of my closest friends are Greek (including my best friend) and I dated a guy in a frat for some time. So I do have some insight on the topic.</p>
<p>Overall, the Greek scene at UNC is dominant enough that you notice it, but quiet enough that you can ignore it and still have a typical college experience. Like within most greek organizations, and colleges in general, you come across the elitist (for lack of a better word) d-bags, who think they are better than everyone else. There is also an equal number of genuinely friendly, fun people.</p>
<p>UNC (thankfully) isn’t as southern, nor Greek-centric, as some of the SEC schools (like Bama), but it is still traditionally southern. As someone from the North, I noticed those in the Greek system in particular are the most southern/traditional of all. This translates into - and again, I can’t stress enough that it is not everyone, just most - a predominantly white, upper class demographic. I’ve heard rumors about certain sororities/fraternities being ‘racist’, and one time one of my aforementioned friends confessed that as a pledge, they were told to “keep black people from entering” one of their parties. He dropped that fraternity, so I don’t know if it was a one-time occurrence or if it happened often, but figured I’d mention it in the interest of full disclosure.</p>
<p>That being said, that is just one frat. Others are just rumors- and even then, that still leaves a great number of sororities and fraternities with no ties to such rumors. Like I said, I have close ties with multiple houses and the people I’ve met within those frats/sororities are amazing. Also, there are definitely many African Americans/Asians/Hispanics/Etc that are members of the IFC/Panhel chapters. Carolina overall is a very diverse and accepting place. I personally wouldn’t worry about race if you decide to rush.</p>
<p>There are definitely historically black sororities and fraternities, but I honestly don’t know much about them, so hopefully someone else can help you. They do make themselves known around campus, though, and look like they enjoy it very much. I know they mix with the IFC/Panhel greeks occasionally, so it’s not like they’re off the charts or anything of the sort.</p>
<p>Finally, Granville definitely consists mostly of in-state freshmen who go Greek. And yes, most of them are on the wealthy side (but many that go Greek are). However, I’ve met numerous people that enjoyed their time at Granville and are non-greek or/and out of state. Conversely, many who chose to go Greek also live in South Campus. That is how I met my Greek friends in the first place- they lived with me. I would personally recommend south campus because of the atmosphere. Granville struck me as very southern, and I swear half the kids that live there are from Charlotte. It’s still a good choice, don’t get me wrong, but speaking from personal experience, the ‘southern’ and ‘greek’ aspects of Carolina are already slightly overwhelming enough without being thrust smack dab in the middle of it.</p>
<p>Also, just as a side note, I’m glad to read you’re being careful about where you want to live. I’m from the North, and prior to attending UNC I was certain (not just considering, genuinely convinced) I wanted to join a sorority and immediately immerse myself in the culture. I wanted to live in Granville, start wearing dresses and pearls, the whole nine yards. Then someone at this very forum convinced me to give South Campus a try if I was from a non-southern state, and I’m so glad I did because man, it really is different. Not in a bad way, I love it here, but definitely different. I ended up joining then dropping a sorority- not because I didn’t like the girls, but because it honestly wasn’t for me. I haven’t regretted the decision, and still have a very active and fulfilling social life. So yes, I would suggest South Campus all the way.</p>