Black at the UA: Greek Life
When people on campus hear the term “Greek” they often think of Sperry-wearing frat guys chugging beer or a plethora of peppy sorority girls chanting during roll-call at pep rallies. But there’s an additional stereotype — the fancy jacket-wearing black Greeks who make weird noises and step all the time.
Although there are reasons these stereotypes exist, there is more to Greek life than many students might think, especially in terms of black, Greek lettered organizations.
It’s time to set the record straight.
Under the umbrella of Greek life there are three separate councils: Interfraternity Council, consisting of mostly white males, National Panhellenic Council, consisting of mainly white females and the National Pan-Hellenic Council, which consists of mostly black males and females.
NPHC is made up of nine different fraternities and sororities that have existed over 100 years. They all are founded on the principles of scholarship, camaraderie and service to mankind. But each is unique in its own way.
While NPHC, NPC and IFC should all be seen as equals, I can’t help but notice that there is a division between the councils.
NPHC obviously stands out due to the race factor. But here at the UA there is even greater a divide because of the overbearing presence of NPC and IFC, with their colossal houses, huge recruitment groups and sheer number of members.
With that said, NPHC’s process of admitting members is also done differently from IFC and NPC. It’s more intimate and time consuming.
For example, NPC girls have a week to “rush” houses — meaning girls visit and later pick the houses (or sororities) they want to be a part of. Hopefully the house will pick them back, but there’s no guarantee.
With NPHC, membership intake is done over a prolonged period of time. Instead of them choosing you, you chose them. If accepted, your loyalty remains with that particular organization and potential members don’t try out every sorority or fraternity to see which one works best for him or her.
A friend once told me about her roommate being a member of Chi-Omega and how frivolous the whole process seemed to her. She said, “how do you get to know someone after a week?” Well, you don’t.
I’ve asked many of my own friends who are a part of NPC if they knew most of their pledge class. Typically, they don’t. There are simply too many people to know everyone.
When asked who founded their organization and where it was founded, the answer is usually a shrug or an “I forgot.”
As a member of an NPHC organization, I can say that this is simply not the case for me or for most others. How can you represent something that you don’t know the history of?
All of these differences have shaped NPHC’s underlying reputation as “the other Greeks.”
NPHC chose to do things differently. For members of these nine organizations “going Greek” is not just a college thing, it’s a lifetime commitment that one keeps at the forefront of his or her life.
Members are encouraged to stay active in graduate chapters after leaving their collegiate institutions. These graduate chapters help govern undergraduate chapters but remain completely independent of them.
Philanthropy, a strong sisterhood and brotherhood, quality membership and a sense of pride and knowledge of the Greek organization is what makes one truly effective and purposeful.
I want to encourage those of you who don’t understand what black Greek life is all about to take a closer look. Go to the national websites or ask a member. They will be more than happy to give you some insight into what it’s all about.
So UA students, it isn’t the size of the house that should determine the value of a Greek organization or council to its community. It’s the quality, not quantity of its members that make the organization great and worthwhile.
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