I’m sure that the sorority members at Alabama have more complex lives and desires beyond the common biases. Being the “hottest girls”, “getting around” and getting “married off” and starring in reality shows may be the goals of a minority. The majority are at the school and in sororities for other reasons. I’m hoping the documentary shows the depth and nuances of individuals behind the monolithic stereotypes.
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These stereotypes are not Greek only.
I was literally subjected to a hazing event through my husband’s work (in the North) in my mid-30s that was worse than anything I saw or participated in as a member of a sorority. I ran home crying and told him I would never attend another work event for wives ever again. I’ve kept my promise with no detriment to him professionally or otherwise.
The stereotype of Greek life is a caricature and caricatures are far more entertaining than real life.
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I am still stuck on the fact that Greek desegregation there happened less than a decade ago.
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I agree and I’m sure it’s a very small minority that’s a part of the documentary.
But those who watch will no doubt fill us in.
The University of Alabama seems very proud of their Greek community being the largest in the nation.
“The fraternity and sorority community at The University of Alabama is one of the largest and most vibrant in the United States.
With around 12,000 students, the UA Greek community comprises 36 percent of the undergraduate student body and is home to 69 social Greek-letter organizations. **Since Fall 2011, The University of Alabama has held the coveted honor of being the largest fraternity and sorority community in the nation with regard to overall fraternity and sorority membership.”
For comparison sake;
31,600 undergraduate student
12,000 students in fraternities sororities.
7,200 honors program
1,088 national merit
Something for everyone and I am sure some overlap.
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However, if you look at sorority web site photo albums (at colleges around the country, not just at Alabama or at colleges in the south), you may find far less racial integration than you might expect based on the college’s demographics.
It blew up at Alabama because of the greater involvement of alumni in sorority recruitment and selection, and some of those alumni were racist enough to enforce racial segregation in their chapters. Here is The Crimson White story that exposed those practices to public view: The Final Barrier: 50 years later, segregation still exists – The Crimson White .
But less formal racial segregation (including self-segregation by potential new members) in sororities is still common at lots of colleges around the country.
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About 5 years ago, a friend’s D was at a frat party at,Duke and was shocked that confederate flags were prominently displayed in the house.
Her experience was a truth but it doesn’t mean everyone was part of this mindset or culture. My guess is that this documentary needs to be viewed in the same light - there are students who participate in this and others who do not. Whether you choose it or don’t, your life is likely to intersect with others who chose differently. It may matter or it may not have an impact.
There are schools (and I think Duke may be among them) that have tried to limit Greek life in different ways to limit the more problematic elements of it.
I’d be interested in watching this AND I wouldn’t never assume that every kid at Bama had this experience. Overall, I am not a fan of Greek life, but I am a fan of community, so I appreciate how this can contribute to that by making a big school small. I just don’t like the idea of a formal system of group think where “we” decide who “our” friends will be for the next four years and who will not be our friends.
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According to the 2013 article posted on this thread, in the period 1963-2013, only 1 African American pledged to a white sorority. That sounds like a mindset and a culture to me.
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Here is the classic aticle from Esquire describing The Machine The Most Powerful Fraternity in America | Esquire | APRIL 1992
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I was at Bama when the Esquire article came out.
I was also a member of a non-Machine but Machine-adjacent national sorority that is still there on sorority row.
I am basically the opposite of what is being portrayed in this thread or probably in the “documentary” (no drinking until I was 21, no sex before marriage, introvert who won all the academic awards), and I have mixed feelings about having been in a sorority like someone said above, but there was no hazing at all in my sorority even back then-- unlike my high school marching band in Texas which was brutal.
I found the Machine fascinating (I was from out of state) and still find it fascinating because it really was managing very complicated political maneuverings that you can see in national and state politics all the time (party discipline, who can deliver us the vote, what can you do with a bloc vote- of whatever type) but somehow managed by 18-22 year olds. I found it impressive if disturbing and a great introduction to seeing real politics in action. They tried to break the Machine when I was there with a Constitutional Convention and all.
I guess my take as a person with actual experience of this back in the early 1990s is a caveat: remember that this is “reality” television filmed without permission of the college. Then picture if a reality tv show came to your workplace and think about who would participate when it was not authorized and why/for what motivations and the degree to which that would reflect your actual workplace (or family or bowling league, whatever.) It doesn’t mean there will not be elements of truth- there probably will be- but usually the truth is complicated and nuanced which doesn’t seem to be what reality tv is after. (I don’t watch it, but just from reading about it, that’s how it seems.)
I was pretty indifferent to my sorority, but I had a few good friends. There were many smart girls and leaders in my sorority; there were others who were not. I had many more friends who were independents (more than in the Greek system by far.) I probably wouldn’t have joined if I had gone a second time to college. I knew some real jerks in fraternities. I knew some amazing, Truman-scholar winning guys in fraternities. If you watch, remember this is not reality but “reality.” I had a friend who taught AP at a high school that had a reality show filmed there about a sport. She said you could recognize the contours of the reality, but the details were all distorted. I figure this will be similiar.
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It would depend upon whether there were black sororities, right? My kids school had a large number of the historically black greek groups,managed by a group, maybe the Pan Hellenic Society? Many girls of color felt that they should support that.
No. This is like saying school segregation during Jim Crow era was ok. The sororities denied attempts by African Americans to join.
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The reason they exist is because the white Greek groups wouldn’t let African Americans join.
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That may have been true historically, but was certainly not true now at my kids school. Many black girls would have been welcomed into other sororities-why is it wrong for them to want to support a historical affinity group to which they could belong? Many black parents encourage that affiliation at predominately white institutions, just as many encourage membership in the Jack and Jill club for black children rather than scouts or similar groups. It is only a problem if girls are actually being denied due to their race, and I do not think we can know that from the numbers.
HBCUs still exist. Many prefer them.
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Just read the articles covering the issue in 2013 at Bama.
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It’s not wrong. What’s wrong is that bigoted white sororities kept them out until very recently.
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Btw, my kids did not join sororities anywhere. They did have friends who enjoyed historic black sororities though
In her experience, not in the way they were said to back in 2013 - influencing the choice of girls returning each round or receiving bids.
For her, following the events of summer 2020, it was the tone deaf responses from HQ and alum. A lot of active members had a very different response / views to them.
But this is sorority specific - some HQs have really looked into this and talked about their past etc Often to the dislike of older alums (from all over the country I might add).
Student bodies turn over every 4 years, so anything happening before Aug 2019 is not within the experience of the students. 2013? These kids were in elementary school.