Sometimes organizations have traditions, values, and characteristics beyond the experiences of the current students.
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And yet there is The Machine!
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Sometimes we attribute failures of the past to current conduct without a basis
I am not a big fan of sororities, but can hardly condemn current members as racists for actions that occured before they arrived, and I dislike others making that assumption.
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I don’t believe anyone “condemn[ed] any current members as racists.” But, until very recently, the sororities to which these young women now belong were racist institutions that excluded Black women. Surely we can agree on that.
According to the University of Alabama, in 2022 there were 7481 sorority members in APA sororities (the traditionally white social sororities.) Of these 7481, only 56 were “Black or African American.” That is significantly less than 1%. For reference, over 25% of Alabamans are Black/African Americans.
https://ofsl.sa.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/02/Fall-2022-OFSL-Demographic-Report.pdf
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Honestly and this is no excuse but if you were black, would you want to be ? So much of society self segregated - in the cafeteria or at work meetings etc - even integrated places aren’t necessarily integrated.
When I read from some of u that alums don’t want to change - I think of the controversy st the Masters.
It is crazy that in 2023 people think this way.
Those are the statistics for matriculation; but how many Black/African American girls actually rushed the APA sororities?
I have had so many friends with girls in sororities over the years and know that many would love to have more diversity …
Then why is enrollment at HBCUs up nationally? No one is forcing people of color to enroll at HBCUs anymore than they are being forced to join AKA. Those are affiliate groups, and people who prefer to join affiliate groups are seeking people who share their identity. That is perfectly understandable.
It’s actually a huge part of why I chose to join a sorority at a coeducational school. We had people of color in my house twenty years ago although we were not a sorority founded on racial or ethnic identity. We were founded in activism and service to the community.
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On the flip side Re: possibly finding less racial integration than you might expect – i felt that same way when I looked at NESAC sports pictures and teams a few years back when my S20 was looking at schools. again, Bama is open to almost all kids; many many schools are not.
Of all the universities out there, this one’s name seems to come up over and over again on this site for some reason. It’s a great school doing great things. I know. If it’s going to promoted over and over again, I say you have to take the good with the bad and be prepared for a little criticism.
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If you want to see NCAA sports demographics, you can look at NCAA Demographics Database - NCAA.org , although it no longer seems to offer showing the demographics by conference (only by NCAA division and subdivision now) like it did some years ago. The formatting of the table of “Coach and Student - Athlete Demographics by Sport” is also weird, in that it gives excessive space to assistant coaches, leaving not much room for student - athletes (so you may have to view it in full screen mode to see all of the numbers).
Most NCAA sports have a significantly higher percentage of White students than the 51% that White students make up of all college undergraduates in the US (or 53% of all non-international college undergraduates in the US). However, that might not be too obvious to most people who only watch the exceptions (football and basketball). It may be more noticeable for those who like to watch NCAA sports like equestrian, lacrosse, or rifle.
I think it’s because they are transparent with their merit aid (and there are prolific posters whose kids go to the school).
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Sororities have changed a lot since the 1960s, when Alabama had very few black women attending the school. Even since 2013, they’ve still had a problem attracting black women away from the sororities of the houses their mothers and grandmothers are members of, the Divine Nine. The sororities can only run who is admitted to the school. Alabama should admit more minorities if it wants more in the sororities.
Being a legacy in the national sororities is no longer considered. As with college admissions themselves, this doesn’t sit well with the grandmothers and mothers and older sisters of those trying to get into houses, but it is a policy made to ensure all have the same opportunity to join a house based on current situations, not on who your relatives are.
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Which I think represents an obligation to recognize and raise not just the good and the bad, but the reality that just because it fits one kid doesn’t mean it works for everyone. Not every family has the same financial needs or priorities, not every kid will have the same career results, not every kid comes from an ethnic, racial or geographic background that will feel comfortable at a school like Alabama.
Totally agree!
As stated previously UA like many if not most schools is great for some but not all. I hope this trailer and series provide a counter balance to an often very peronal set of narratives that while generous are often repeated.
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Bottom line: while there are odious people at all colleges, cultures vary, and it’s pretty clear to me that 4 years at Alabama is going to be a wildly different experience than 4 years at, say, Cal.
Greek life at large southern publics is a distinct experience.
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Fall enrollment in degree-granting historically Black colleges and universities, by sex of student and level and control of institution: Selected years, 1976 through 2021 indicates that HBCU enrollment peaked in 2010. Relative to 2010, HBCU enrollment in 2019 was 11.5% lower, 2020 was 14.5% lower, and 2021 was 12.1% lower.
Black student enrollment at HBCUs dropped by greater percentages since 2010: 2019 was 17.6% lower, 2020 was 20.4% lower, and 2021 was 18.5% lower. Black students made up 81.4% of students at HBCUs in 2010 and 76.1% of students at HBCUs in 2021.
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After this documentary airs, Bama is going to offer full tuition for National Merit Commended.
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i was in T Town tonight for engineering graduation.
Half naked blond bombshells danced on the stage earning their PhDs - with their Greek symbols hanging from their mortarboards…not.
What I saw - and read in the commencement guide - was a UN of PhDs, both racial and gender diversity in the crowd and student seating area for Masters and Bachelor students as they walked up to the stage to hear their names called, and in reading their hometowns in the guide, they ranged from San Francisco to Long Island and everywhere in between with easily 2/3 not from Alabama.
We ran into my son’t friend from HS - he’s going to Michelin. A kid from my son’s Senior design - ULA which is an aerospace company - I’m not familiar with. Others to Mercedes which is 12 or 15 miles from schoool. And another Carrier in Charlotte. My son will be doing aerospace in Utah for 6 montths before moving to another rotation - likely in Cleveland. If his 10% profit sharing bonus hits his first year, he’ll be right at $90K (before a small signing bonus).
My son chose this leacherous and heathen of a school - where the super hot girls want to be in the sorority the frats rate highest. Who are more concerned with tik tok than class - and all the girls are blondes and have eating disorders.
Yet somehow, some way will be gainfully employed…as will thousands of others.
Many in society have confidence or insecurity and it’s unfortunate when I read stories about hazing on the New Mexico State basketball team - or countless fraternities my daughter tells me about…it’s sad kids subject themselves to things and allow others to harm them.
But let’s not act like it’s isolated or dismiss the efforts and accomplishments of thousands of talented students.
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I think some qualitative research would help inform your quantitative data. What I am talking about is the best fit line to that data, not the individual year-to-year data.
AKA has also founded chapters at PWIs with predominantly Greek student bodies within the last decade. Not just W&L but others as well. I know a few AKA member alumni and they are very proud of this, although I don’t know that they have data tracking it online.
There is also no doubt that, like PWIs, the quality of education offered at HBCUs with a national reputation has trended upward over the past four decades, and with that, the price of the tuition/room/board. Interestingly, some HBCUs have not invested in improving the quality of their programs but are trading on the popularity of the affinity group option to attract students, and it’s working. That was unthinkable two decades ago.
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Seriously, though, I wish they would. There used to be some full tuition scholarships out there for Commended students, but these went away a number of years ago. I’m sure there are a lot of middle class kids from NJ and MD who just missed their state cutoffs by a point who could benefit from this.
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Or who, dealing with our obscene cost of living up here, haven’t been able to save or aren’t able to cash flow over $120k for four years in-state. Even if our legislatures are somehow committed to freezing tuition, room, and board in perpetuity as they claim, a lot of people are going to be/ already are short the full price and will want a quality education for their children.
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