Editorial: The law needs to stand up to bullies…
http://www.eacourier.com/copper_era/opinion/editorial-the-law-needs-to-stand-up-to-bullies/article_513f908e-6697-11e7-b903-e719267b3f39.html
“You read that correctly — we said Penn State. One would think that, after the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, the school would keep eyes and ears wide open for anything that could run afoul of the law.”
Bester1, this debate – is the Greek system inherently unsafe/exclusionary/objectionable and whether it has a place in any self-respecting university – has been going on at CC from practically day one. Welcome to the endless discussion.
@katliamom…yes a long standing discussion but few if any match the grusome, inhumane behavior of this bunch of adult students, Penn State staff and hired social police. It also includes secret societies and is at a university that again turned a blind eye in the sake of self preservation when it should be watching every move that is made in the name safety of the students. I am sure you are aware of what the recent audit uncovered at Penn State and this was before the frat tragedy and was brought upon itself because of the Sandusky/Paterno/Admin scandal…not exacly a common situation when it come to death of a student that should have been saved.
I hate the Greek system there I go said it! Do away with that and then think of all the mess that dies with it!
Sad Sad Sad!
Re: this Pitt article “Greek life promotes dangerous, elitist culture…” what the author fails to recognize is the there are separate Greek Councils. The NPHC is historically black and 99%+ of their members are black. The NMCG is made up of chapters of historically Asian or Latino members. Their membership is 99%+ aligned with that demographic. If the NPC and NIC are 97% white, it is no surprise. This does not make these organizations elitist or racist. They can only accept members who register for recruitment. Most minority students choose the other organizations if they seek this experience.
Furthermore, the price tag of $30K is ridiculous. He must be including room and board fees in this estimate. I have never seen any chapter dues anywhere near this figure. In fact, it would cost my daughter $4K LESS to live in her chapter house/year than the price of dorm and meal plan to the university. It is a way to SAVE money!! The $4K difference easily covers her annual dues for all 4 years on campus.
Very misleading and poorly researched article.
“They can only accept members who register for recruitment.”
Right, but the people of color who are choosing not to register for recruitment are doing so in a context where these organizations were deliberately and exclusively white for the first 100 or so years after they were founded. The NPC and NIC groups, with rare exceptions, are viewed as being just for white people because of their own history of being just for white people. You can’t just drop the exclusion clause from your charter in the 1970s and then pretend like all the racist history never happened. If you want to make your organization inclusive, you have to acknowledge and consciously reject your racist history and make deliberate moves to reach out to people of color, as many formerly all-white universities have done.
@Hanna I would agree that there are racist issues still lingering in many of the SEC schools. However, since we are on a PSU thread, and I am in the Northeast, I would disagree. Every one of my sorority’s chapters in our area has minority women. Our national website and magazine always show minority women. At our national convention, we invite the local NPHC and MGC sororities to join us for a luncheon along with the members of the local NPC chapters. There have been efforts to include all, and yet, the number of minority women that register for recruitment is very small. Many of my minority friends’ daughters who have pledged, have joined the NPHC organizations on their campus. I suspect it is because they have family members that are part of these organizations and/or they feel connected to others who look like their “sisters”. Social clubs, by nature, are meant to be a home away from home. Whether it be students who join Hillel for a connection to others by their faith, or sorority/fraternity membership it is no different than when immigrants arrived in our country and settled with others that felt comfortable to them to form ethnic neighborhoods. It does not make the NPC and NIC groups elitist. It is human nature.
Just a few years ago they had to shut a sorority down at PSU because of overt racism…Racism/Sexism is just as severe at PSU as it is anywhere…here just a Few samples of PSU.
Penn State Sorority Chi Omega Under Investigation Due To Racially Insensitive Image…
http://onwardstate.com/2012/12/04/penn-state-sorority-chi-omega-under-investigation-due-to-racially-insensitive-photograph-2/
Penn State made # 4 on this list…
https://mic.com/articles/112240/12-incidents-that-prove-fraternity-and-sorority-racism-isn-t-just-an-oklahoma-problem#.UCiTaI6To
Penn State sorority sisters denigrate Mexicans in party photo…
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/05/penn-state-in-spotlight-again-with-sorority-photo-mocking-latinos/
Penn State Sorority Closes 14 Months After Controversy Over Racist Photo…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/penn-state-sorority-chi-omega_n_4810010.html
Let’s include sexism at PSU Frats…
At Penn State, one woman’s rule at fraternity parties: Don’t go upstairs
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/at-penn-state-one-girls-rule-at-frat-parties-dont-go-upstairs/2015/03/23/1f87f318-d0a0-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html?utm_term=.16131bcae114
Racist chants, hazing, sexual assault: Penn State Facebook scandal fuels controversy over Greek life
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/03/racist_chants_hazing_and_sexua.html
Fraternities Were Built On Racism. So Why Are We Surprised When They Do Racist Things?
https://thinkprogress.org/fraternities-were-built-on-racism-so-why-are-we-surprised-when-they-do-racist-things-70db8f20aeec
General Racism at PSU
Is there a Hidden Racist Problem in State College?..
http://sites.psu.edu/nicolekosudaci/2016/03/31/is-there-a-hidden-racist-problem-in-state-college/
Penn State Battles Issues of Sexual Assault & Racism…
http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/penn-state-battles-issues-of-sexual-assault-racism,1462456/
Racism/sexism does not have a specific address…it is firmly entrenched in Greek organizations in the North, South, East and West. Don’t kid yourself.
As someone who lives in the South, it’s more than just overt racism in sororities. Greek life is very popular on most Southern campuses, with more girls rushing than there are bids. Even single legacies aren’t guaranteed bids in most chapters, and rec letters are absolutely necessary (regardless of what colleges say). My HS daughter and her friends are already talking to older friends in sororities. I have friends who are already telling me to let them know when Little Tutu goes through rush so they can write her letters. Girls actually get coaches. Moms go crazy trying to get their daughters in certain ones. I can see that it would definitely be more difficult for minority students to infiltrate the system as they are less likely to have those insider ties.
The part about ethnic neighborhoods above ignores a critical aspect…one reason why many ethnic neighborhoods came about and immigrants gravitated to them was due to financial factors(most immigrants didn’t have a lot of wealth) and the racism/ethnic bigotry which was much more blatant and openly expressed by those from the dominant majority and which encouraged de jure/de-facto segregation.
And such bigotry was still quite open and manifest when some older relatives and a few older cousins first arrived in the US in the '60s or moreso earlier arriving relatives who came in the late '40s and early '50s. Many real estate agents/home owners were free to express their bigotry as a factor in refusing to show/sell their homes in many “real murikan:” neighborhoods.
All you need to do is research “Redlining” and it demonstrates what cities did to keep minorities out of certain communities. This happened in northern cities in the early 1900’s. Most people are unaware of this practice.
@bester1 It was rampant in Southern cities in the 1950s through at least the 1970s. Or, more specifically, suburbs where banks refused to finance mortgages in certain areas for minorities.
@tutumom2001 …great points…racism doesn’t seem to care whether it is in the north, south, east or west.
“I would agree that there are racist issues still lingering in many of the SEC schools.”
Yeah, but this is a Northern thing, too.
“There have been efforts to include all, and yet, the number of minority women that register for recruitment is very small.”
Then your efforts haven’t been the right efforts. I have never seen an NPC event that discussed and critiqued its own racial exclusion policies. Nor have I heard from friends who are NPC members that this history and its impact are part of new member education. If such acknowledgment is happening, then it’s happening too infrequently and too quietly.
In contrast, lots of primarily white universities with online histories identify and honor the first African-American student to enroll/graduate. These pages typically recognize when and how the school abandoned its exclusionary clause, as well as the achievements of alumni of color. If there’s an NPC group that’s done this, I’d love to know which one it is and give it credit. They may not want to admit that the changes were as recent as the 1970s. But you’re never going to get a lot of people of color interested when the members of the organization pretend that a hundred years of racist exclusion never happened.
@tutumom2001 I have spoken with women from the big SEC schools who have told me that not only are women of color excluded at those chapters, but OOS students are considered equally inferior. Having sat through membership selection for many years, all in the Northeast, I have never heard any collegian mention race nor state of residency as a factor for considering someone’s bid. I attend our Founder’s Day luncheon every year with 3 local collegiate chapters and there are always minority women in attendance. While the Chi Omega’s at PSU exhibited poor judgement, I do not see that as the norm.
Progress has been made in tandem with the advances our society has made. There are now openly gay members that are pledging. This was not the norm when I was in school in the 80s. Back then, everyone was closeted. As society becomes more inclusive so too are the Greek organizations. Being a parent of 3 college aged children, I see a level of acceptance in them and their friends that was not embraced by my parents generation. Change takes time. I do believe that our society has made great strides over my lifetime. Greek organizations are evolving right along with the rest of society.
^^^ @MomfromPA15317 I don’t think it’s so much “You’re from Pennsylvania … you’re an outsider … we aren’t accepting you” as much as it is “You’re not from __________ so you don’t know enough people in the chapter to get a bid.” I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it is definitely more difficult to get in the door when you’re not part of the network.
All of the Chi-Os I have met from a variety of schools both in and out of the SEC have been lovely people.
@tutumom2001 I know many Chi O’s that are lovely as well. I was saying that all of bester1’s articles referencing the incidents that led to the closing of the Chi O chapter at PSU were not reflecting the typical behavior of NPC chapters, nor XO nationally for that matter.
As for the OOS reference, I have talked to my sisters down south who have said specifically that “Old Row” houses don’t take OOS rushees. If you read the chapter blogs on various sites, these women mention OOS students as being “unacceptable” etc and noting which houses on campus will “accept OOS”. Maybe, as you said, this has more to do with connections than an elitist attitude. It is a much more complicated process than anyone who has never been associated with it realizes. It does not mean that Greek organizations are “elitist” as the image painted in that Pitt article.
Racism in Greek Life…from PSU Student
https://sites.psu.edu/jeffsinger7015/2015/03/06/deliberation-racism-in-greek-life/
Sigma Nu shaken after member of color complains of racist treatment…at PSU
http://www.thedp.com/article/2016/12/sigma-nu-member-accuses-group-racism
It is everywhere and PSU is no different.
Just FYI…the second article linked above refers to an incident at the University of Pennsylvania, not PSU.
@Aida…You are correct. Thank you for seeing that.