Last week, the Rotunda published a piece on Greek Life not being diverse enough. Davina Applewhite made a fair point and I agree Greek life is not as diverse as it could be, but there are a few key facts I’d like to bring to light as part of the complexity of the discussion.
This is an important discussion to have and I appreciate her bringing it forward to the collective campus conscience and I would like to offer my own insight as well as some more solutions.
Before I bring to light my own views and offer solutions, I think it is only fair I disclose my affiliations: I am a member of Gamma Rho Lambda (GRL), the only explicitly multicultural and LGBTQ+ focused Greek organization on campus. I know a thing or two about both Greek recruitment, membership in small, multicultural organizations and the kind of support that such organizations can benefit from.
Also, please take note that my views are my own, and not representative of any organizations I am affiliated with. I speak as a member of GRL, but in no way for GRL.
The central question of Applewhite’s piece is why people from more diverse backgrounds aren’t more represented in Greek Life, and how they can be better included. This is an important question to ask.
Longwood and its organizations can always strive to be more diverse. According to her, the answer is possible implicit biases against individuals who look different. I agree that implicit biases may play a role, but that’s only part of the answer.
Greek Life, outside of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) and GRL, is a largely non-diverse phenomenon. I don’t want to make any blanket statements, but I do agree with Applewhite’s assessment that there is generally a lack of diversity. Possible implicit bias isn’t the whole answer, because accessibility also matters.
It’s typically expensive (hundreds of dollars a semester in most organizations) and rush is often held outside the normal school year which creates an additional hurdle. For students from marginalized circumstances, the hundreds of dollars in dues combined with the cost of letters, trips and formal events can add up. Arranging to come back to school early for rush, as is the case with College Panhellenic Council (CPC) sororities, can complicate travel plans.
There’s also the fact that most organizations take note of legacies, which means a family member was in the same organization in college before the potential new member. Additionally, most people who rush for a Greek organization have been to open houses and/or are friends with current members. It’s frequently a matter of networking, not first introductions during rush.
Although I do not want to project my own feelings and experiences as a minority at Longwood onto everyone else, I suspect the extant non-diverse memberships in some groups make people from minority backgrounds feel less welcome and worry that if they become a member, they may be tokenized.
That’s actually in part how GRL got started as an interest group at Longwood in 2016, because our local founder wanted a sorority, she would feel safe and welcome as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Beyond possible implicit biases, there are other factors that make most Greek Life not very accessible to minorities or students from a variety of backgrounds. Economic barriers, legacy considerations, timing issues and other factors all make Greek Life less accessible and particularly less accessible for students from marginalized backgrounds.
The question of how to make Greek Life more accessible is just as important as examining implicit biases when it comes to making Greek Life more diverse. I don’t have any amazing answers for that right now, but if we want to think about diversity in Greek Life, accessibility is part of the equation.
Implicit biases are important to think about and it is important for us as students, citizen leaders and members of Greek Life.
The solution Applewhite offers is from a member of a Greek Life at Longwood: a blind application process.
I don’t think this is a complete solution but could be implemented as part of the rush process in addition to the in-person components.
Although the rush process varies from council to council and in some specifics from organization to organization, in-person meetings and interviews are part of it for every organization, to my knowledge.
I don’t know precisely what Applewhite or the other student envisioned, but I imagine an application with personal hobbies, interests, values and other personality traits could help potential new members pique the interest of current members before meeting them.
Current members of an organization having an impression of who may be a good fit for their organization before the application of implicit biases could help mitigate the impact of the biases when they do meet in person. However, having a paper application that doesn’t necessarily reveal backgrounds does not prevent implicit bias from occurring when a potential new member gets to the interview or in person meeting.
Additionally, even if the rush process was made to be mostly or entirely paper-only before a first bid is extended (which I consider both unwise and unlikely), there are still open houses and public events. If someone is interested in rushing an organization, they will likely attend their open houses or events. How is a potential new member supposed to know if an organization is for them if they don’t ever meet it? To meet organizations inherently requires face-to-face interaction with their members.
Introducing a preliminary blind paper application element could mitigate possible implicit bias, but not eliminate it entirely if it is there.
I don’t have a great solution for eliminating possible implicit bias, but I do have ideas for the other half of the equation: supporting diversity-focused Greek Life.
Currently, Longwood is home to six NPHC (predominantly African-American) organizations and one independent multicultural organization, GRL.
When it comes to making Greek Life a more diverse space, strengthening minority-focused organizations is just as important as ensuring minority students feel welcome in organizations without that specific focus. It’s not only just as important, but it has much more tangible possible solutions.
All of the NPHC organizations combined, plus GRL, have fewer members than most CPC organizations. According to the Greek Grade Report for Fall 2018, NPHC had a total of 27 members and GRL had 12 members in Fall 2018 (this semester, we have 11 active). Only one CPC organization had less than forty.
Recruiting for Greek Life is hard. Convincing students to join minority and multicultural related organizations is difficult as well. Doing both at the same time for a multicultural Greek organization is even more challenging. And starting a new organization, multicultural, Greek or both? That’s a whole other op-ed.
These issues are challenging, and these are hard questions. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try and there are specific things we as a campus can do.
So how can Longwood and its students support multicultural Greek life and its sustained presence?
As an institution, Longwood can do several things.
Create chapter rooms and replace ones that have disappeared in the chaos of construction and do so in consultation with the organizations. AKA is currently the only NPHC organization with a chapter room and GRL doesn't have one either.
Ensure that when events that are all-Greek are held or sponsored, NPHC and GRL are not just invited but acknowledged with the other councils and organizations.
Be transparent when it comes to space, policy, finances and other choices that will impact them. All student organizations appreciate this, but it particularly impacts multicultural and minority organizations.
If more diversity-related Greek Life tries to come to campus, don’t just tolerate it but actively encourage it.
As students, we can:
Collaborate with multicultural Greek organizations. It could be socials, events, fundraisers or volunteering. The same way sororities and fraternities interact with one another in general, by working together and forming bonds between organizations, is the same way multicultural organizations should be treated.
Go to their events. Most organizations host public events that aren’t rush or recruitment related, we can support them with our attendance.
Treat multicultural Greek organizations with the same respect as we treat non-multicultural ones. Don’t say NPHC organizations or GRL don’t count as “real” Greek Life and include us as Greeks.
Within organizations, consider regularly how to be more multicultural both in terms of membership and in terms of supporting multicultural groups. In GRL, multiculturalism is literally part of our mission statement and we regularly discuss how we can increase diversity in our membership and in our community involvement.
We have 11 active members this semester and cap our business meetings at an hour. If we can do it, bigger organizations with longer meetings can also occasionally devote a little bit of time to this topic as well.
If there is a need for another multicultural Greek organization, it is largely on the students to bring it to campus.
For example, Hispanic Latino Association brought Alpha Lambda Psi, a Latinx co-ed fraternity to visit to see if there is enough interest to start a group in early Feb. 2019. I don’t know if there’s been interest or progress on that, but a group of students saw a possible need and acted on that. If there is an interest, they will presumably contact the administration and start the process.
We have NPHC organizations. We have an explicitly multicultural-focused sorority. You don’t be a part of these organizations or start your own to support them. Increasing diversity in Greek Life and on campus is an important discussion to have, but it’s one that the participants need to be proactive in.
If you want more diversity on campus, Greek or otherwise, then be part of the solution.
