<p>Hey, y'all! Sorry if this has already been brought up multiple times, but I wanted some fresh opinions and views on this topic. I wasn't sure where to post this, so if it is in the wrong thread, sorry! </p>
<p>I am currently looking at most of the SEC schools (UGA, Bama, Tennessee, LSU, S. Carolina) for college, as well as a few HBCUs. Both of my parents attended HBCUs as undergrads, so I have already been exposed to many of them (and love them!) However, I'm not to sure what college life is like for an African-American female at an SEC school. I'm very interested in going to school in the South because I was born and raised in GA and have lots of family there, etc. (I am also very interested in HBCUs, lol)</p>
<p>So, putting the academic questions aside, I'm very interested in the social environment for a person like me.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Are the students 'segregated' by race? Do black people mostly stick with black people and so on? </p></li>
<li><p>How is your experiences in NPHC sororities/greek life? How strong of a presence does the NPHC have? </p></li>
<li><p>Does the NPHC interact with the IFC/NPC very much? Do they go to parties together and so on? (I feel like I know this answer already, but still...)</p></li>
<li><p>Are there many African-American geared clubs/groups? </p></li>
<li><p>How is your overall experience being an African-American female (or male for that matter) like?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Basically, I just want many perspectives as to what life is like at a big southern school. I am mostly looking for AA's to answer because they know first hand the experiences versus a white person, and so on. </p>
<p>Sorry if these questions have been repeated and answered; if so, just link me to the board! I'd appreciate honest answers, please try not to sugar coat it. I'm obviously not basing my decisions on these things, but the social aspect/environment is important to me. </p>
<p>If you email this UGA multicultural sorority they might be willing to connect you with some of their members who could probably answer some of your questions:</p>
<p>At USC, we have a lot of black students and they integrate just fine. I have a lot of black friends and they really love USC. Some are involved with sororities, but most of my personal friends are not.</p>
<p>I’m not black, so I can’t give you first-hand information. I can just tell you with what I see and what I’ve been told by my friends who are black. So far, none of them have had any trouble.</p>
<p>I know there are African-American clubs at USC and there’s the Office for Multicultural Student Affairs. They also have a minority welcome during welcome week.</p>
<p>I don’t understand, first you’re hoping that students aren’t segregated by race and then you’re saying you want to segregate yourself by joining a club based on your race?
I don’t understand this kind of logic but it seems to be the norm even at my school where it is very racially diverse.</p>
<p>I went to a relatively diverse East Coast college. While most students had friends of multiple races, people’s best friends seemed to be of their own race (or similar national origin). I don’t think the segregation was due to prejudice or closed-mindedness as much as misguided institutional policies. A pre-orientation program for international students, for example, made sure that international students had a solid base of international friends before meeting anyone else on campus. Similarly, the “black cultural center” fostered a tightly-knit community among African Americans while decreasing their interactions with the rest of the campus community. (What would motivate African American students to voluntarily live segregated from the rest of campus? Offering them the single nicest dorm on campus, with guaranteed singles the size of doubles and the only dorm with full kitchens.)</p>
<p>I am neither black nor attending a big Southern school, so I really can’t contribute the sort of first-hand experience you are looking for. I just share bl4ke360’s concern that you won’t find strong African American organizations at the same time as good integration. Which one is more important to you?</p>
<p>LOL, no. You have it all wrong, buddy. In joining a club that is geared toward African-American interests/issues, how exactly would I be segregating myself? Especially considering such clubs are open to all races… I asked this because being in the south, having such clubs offers a place of ‘refuge’ and commonality amongst its AA students. Just because I join something like, BSA (black student alliance) DOES NOT mean I am trying to segregate myself. Please elaborate on your assumption, thanks.</p>
<p>Why would I not find strong AA organizations at the same time as good integration? There is the NPHC, isn’t there? I believe both are important. Once again, can you elaborate. I feel y’all are being quick to dismiss my points and judge, considering you are neither black nor in the south.</p>
<p>I understand both your sentiments and theirs.</p>
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</p>
<p>In sentence one, you say it’s open to all races, but in sentence two, you call it a refuge and commonality amongst AA students.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, AA groups may be open to all races, but very few people of other races join. Personally, I’ve never felt welcomed by those types of groups. (International Students, Black Students, Multicultural Students, etc.) I don’t have a problem with it, because the club isn’t really meant for me. But my point is, if you join AA groups, you’re going to be around basically all AA students in these clubs.</p>
<p>The friends that you make in college are the people you surround yourself with. You might meet people in your classes (depending on your major and the size of your classes), but more than likely your friends are going to come from your dorm and the clubs you join on campus. If you join AA clubs and invest a lot of time in that, then you’ll have mostly AA friends.</p>
<p>I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing either. Your friends should be people who support you and who you feel comfortable around. I don’t think you’ll have a major problem with racism wherever you go. I really think that with the right attitude, you could fit in just fine at almost any university.</p>
<p>It IS open to all races. Just because it is a ‘refuge’ for AA students (wrong wording, sorry) does not mean that others cannot join. </p>
<p>I’m sorry that you don’t feel personally welcomed to join such groups. That could be a reason for AA’s to join, because they don’t feel welcomed into joining certain things either. Why don’t you feel welcomed? Did you try to join these groups/interact with them?</p>
<p>I agree that I’ll be around mostly AA’s if I join said groups, however I’m not limiting myself to ONLY these groups. I’m going to join other groups, I was just wondering specifically if these groups exist and how close they are considering the possible racial climate as such schools.</p>
<p>What do the terms segregation and integration mean to you? </p>
<p>If a large percentage of AA students chooses to live in AA sororities and fraternities, that is de facto segregation for me. If segregation for you means, “Someone would spit in my face if I tried to join a non-ethnic club.” then you’ve got nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>^^I wasn’t trying to be offensive or to say you were joining only those groups. The thing is, in college, you only have time to be a part of so many groups. You can’t overload. There’s only so much you can do extra-curricular wise before your grades start to suffer. And if your grades don’t suffer, then your health does. The “college triangle” that is Sleep, Good Grades, and Social Life is true. The more you put into one area, the more you have to take out of other areas.</p>
<p>Yes. Multicultural groups and AA groups are open to all races. I didn’t say they weren’t. The thing is, do any other races ever join them? Not really. It’s because the nature of the group isn’t for all races.</p>
<p>For example, there’s the “Brothers of Nubian Descent (BOND)” at USC. It “Promotes the retention and academic well being of the African-American male student body of USC.” Clearly that group isn’t for me. I’m not African-American, nor am I a male. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t join the group, it just means I’m not going to.</p>
<p>Well, in that case, everyone involved in greek life (aside from multi-cultural greeks) virtually segregates themselves. Matter of fact, I’d go as far as to say most college students segregate themselves by your terms. </p>
<p>By segregation, I mean that they actively avoid any interaction between anyone of a different race/ethnicity/social background and so on. Thank you for your interpretation of what I meant and making my simple question way more than it was or intended to be. </p>
<p>BTW, AA’s in Historically Black Frats/Sororities do not choose to be in them for the sole fact that they are black and to segregate themselves. They choose them because of their meaning, purpose, goals, activities and support.</p>
<p>I understand you weren’t trying to be that way. </p>
<p>Yes, actually, the NPHC has quite an amount of non-black members. Obviously, it isn’t as popular to a non-black person, but they do join. What do you mean by nature of the group? </p>
<p>Everyone segregates to a certain extent at college. Engineering majors stick to the engineering school, the kids who like finance join the Wall Street Warriors, kids who play the trumpet join the pep band, etc. </p>
<p>I also doubt that everyone avoids complete interaction with everyone different from them. You have to interact in mandatory class projects, or to get directions on campus, or even as part of a ‘get to know you’ orientation game. A lot of people actively seek ‘diversity’ in a school, as evinced on these boards. </p>
<p>Besides, there are so many facets of a person, any person, that letting solely your race define who you are, for anyone, is incredibly silly.</p>
<p>MSC2013, I doubt you are going to find much “overt racism” on any college campus today. However, college campuses differ widely in how much different groups mix: do the engineers socialize with the women’s studies majors or do they mostly socialize among themselves? Do the black kids live with the Asian kids or do they segregate into different communities (e.g. through fraternities)? I thought that’s what you meant by “segregation” because that’s the primary form of segregation on college campuses today. </p>
<p>Segregation in this context is not necessarily a bad word. It just measures how diverse your everyday experience will be like.</p>
<p>I don’t want to end up arguing about semantics, but I did want to point out that you are actually “actively avoiding” much interaction with non-AA folks by making an active decision to socialize with AA groups. Again, that’s not a priori a bad thing. Your time is limited and you can only socialize with a limited number of people. How you choose those people is up to you.</p>
<p>Holy smokes. Y’all are taking this way out of context. Since when am I letting my race define who I am? I’m actually asking a legitimate question considering the location of my school. But thank you for letting me know what I’ve known for a while.</p>
<p>OK… so if you don’t actually go to an SEC school/southern school as an AA or just go to one in general and don’t have any insight, please do not answer this forum. People have been taking my questions way out of context unnecessarily. To those who have helped, thank you! I appreciate it!</p>
<p>I think, in general, students at large universities tend to seek out others with like interests and backgrounds, whether those are based on area of study, Greek life, color, race, religion, sports, etc. In smaller LAC’s, partially based on the type of student attracted to the LAC and numbers of students on campus, students seem to enjoy diversity in their clubs and dorms. My son and daughter were members of clubs and had friends and dorm mates that were widely diverse. I would suggest that you and your parents take tours of the campuses on your list. Ask to speak with AA students, try to attend a campus wide event to get “the feel” of the campus. It is so important to find a school where you can be comfortable to live and study.</p>
<p>We’re all discriminatory in some way or another. For example, I would have a hard time making friends with someone who doesn’t play any sort of sport/has a passion for that sport. I think if you’re trying to find a safe place to make friends of all backgrounds, check into joining an historically African-American Greek organization. You can usually make friends of all sorts of different backgrounds, or by playing on a sports team.</p>
<p>EDIT: And yes, usually southern schools are more openly segregated than Northeastern schools, but discrimination comes in different forms varying from North/South.</p>