Segregation of Sisters

On September 25 of last year, one female student attempted to rush the Alpha Gamma Delta (AGD) sorority at the University of Georgia; she was never invited back. The sorority was an all white sorority and she was black. The sorority was said to have discriminated against this potential member because this student was black. Outraged, that she would not even be considered for membership, the young black woman made the university aware of the situation (Hohman). The allegations were answered with a letter from one of the current sorority members. The letter outlined the reasons that the sorority would not accept the black candidate. In this letter, one of the sorority sisters said that, “If we had a black girl in our sorority, none of the fraternities would want to do anything with us” (Hohman).

The university felt that some sort of punishment was needed for the sorority and all the members of Alpha Gamma Delta were required to go to “racial-sensitivity training” following a two-week suspension. That was the only punishment imposed (Hohman).

The university’s Greek system consists of either all-white or all-black organizations, with admitted little mixing of the races when it comes to Greek life. North Carolina State University is not much different. Out of the 11 sororities that have chapters at North Carolina State University, only one is multi-cultural (AKA, DST, SGR, TNX, and ZPB homepages).

The enduring proposal of segregated sororities and fraternities makes it hard for students to accept each other’s differences. Naturally, one feels more comfortable around people that are like themselves; however, if this segregation persists no progress is made with this delicate race relation problem.

Since the university indirectly supports, or at least they have not tried to abolish, the concept of segregated Greek life this could be considered indirect institutionalized discrimination (Thomas, Feb. 1). The practice of having segregated Greek life is not directly trying to hurt people, but indirectly it can affect many people.

In addition, the segregation of these sororities could be considered a form of Internal Colonialism (Thomas, Feb. 13). Racial groups are forming their own colonies where assimilation does not take place (Thomas, Jan. 23).

Theta Nu Xi is the only sorority at North Carolina State University that is open to women of mixed cultures. They pride themselves on accepting all people and celebrating their differences (TNX homepage). More sororities should follow their lead. The solution for the wars between races will not arise immediately, however, if everyone starts small, like the desegregation of sororities and fraternities, in no time, strides will be made in not only the college communities, but also the world.

Bibliography

Aguirre, Adalberto and Jonathan Turner. American Ethnicity. McGraw-Hill. New York:2001.

Alpha Kappa Alpha. Homepage: http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/frat_sor/Alpha_kappa_alpha.

Delta Sigma Theta. Homepage: http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/frat_sor/delta_sigma_theta.

Hohman, Kimberly. “University of Georgia Sorority Snubs a Sister.” http://www.race.about.com/newsissues/racerelations/library/weekly/aa092500a.htm.

Sigma Gamma Rho. Homepage: http://www.sgr1922.org/

Theta Nu Xo. Homepage: http://www.thetanuxi.org/beta/index.html

Thomas, Melvin. Sociology 305. Class Lecture Notes. February 1, 2001.

Thomas, Melvin. Sociology 305. Class Lecture Notes. February 13, 2001.

Thomas, Melvin. Sociology 305. Class Lecture Notes. January 23, 2001.

Zeta Phi Beta. Homepage: http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/frat_sor/zeta_phi_beta/.

Bibliography

Bibliography

Aguirre, Adalberto and Jonathan Turner. American Ethnicity. McGraw-Hill. New York:2001.

Alpha Kappa Alpha. Homepage: http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/frat_sor/Alpha_kappa_alpha.

Delta Sigma Theta. Homepage: http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/frat_sor/delta_sigma_theta.

Hohman, Kimberly. “University of Georgia Sorority Snubs a Sister.” http://www.race.about.com/newsissues/racerelations/library/weekly/aa092500a.htm.

Sigma Gamma Rho. Homepage: http://www.sgr1922.org/

Theta Nu Xo. Homepage: http://www.thetanuxi.org/beta/index.html

Thomas, Melvin. Sociology 305. Class Lecture Notes. February 1, 2001.

Thomas, Melvin. Sociology 305. Class Lecture Notes. February 13, 2001.

Thomas, Melvin. Sociology 305. Class Lecture Notes. January 23, 2001.

Zeta Phi Beta. Homepage: http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_orgs/frat_sor/zeta_phi_beta/.

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