You shouldn’t have any sympathy for what happened to Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter.
What its members did is abhorrent, fully deserving of the iron fist Oklahoma president David Boren threw down on them. It eroded any sort of progress Greek life may have gained in the minds of onlookers.
You shouldn’t be ashamed to be Greek. It’s one of the best decisions I made in college, and I know it’s more fulfilling and rewarding than what those few tuxedo-clad bigots showed the world in the span of 10 seconds.
And you shouldn’t be so naive to read this column and think what happened on that bus can’t happen here.
Originally, we were going to write an editorial with a “The Daily Reveille Editorial Board” byline. Conversation started, and we realized the sad fact that most Greeks on this campus wouldn’t take what I’m about to say seriously unless it came from one of their own. You’ll still try to find ways to rationalize it or immediately start counting how many minority friends you have in your head because you think that somehow makes it OK, but before you do, hear me out.
Over the last three days, I’ve encountered a similar feeling from brothers and sisters across LSU’s Greek system. They’re mad at the Oklahoma chapter because Facebook, Twitter or Instagram tells them to be, but when the notion of segregation or racial issues within LSU Greek Life are broached, they clam up and become defensive, claiming the Oklahoma incident happened thousands of miles away and could never, ever happen under the stately oaks, where 22.28 percent of students are Greek.
“Because it happened on their campus and all we have been exposed to what the media has provided that I’m not sure it’s a fair question to say what would LSU do if this incident occurred,” is what director of LSU Greek Life Angela Guillory told Reveille editors Tuesday night when she was asked about the Oklahoma SAE incident and what LSU would do if a similar situation occurred in Baton Rouge.
Right. It’s not fair to be proactive and not fair to ask if a plan is in place to handle something of such magnitude.
It is fair, though, to assume the media has somehow slanted a 10-second video where “n—–” is said three times and threats of hanging them from a tree are shouted as oafs pump their fist.
In the seven and a half semesters I’ve been a part of a fraternity, not once have I been invited to a diversity workshop or has LSU Greek Life mentioned the glaring lack of diversity in its organizations or measures they’re prepared to take to solve it. It was never brought up in my pledgeship and, as far as I know, has not been addressed with any new classes of fraternity men.
A tri-council retreat was held in 2014, bringing together IFC, NPHC and PHC presidents and other leaders to talk. A welcome start, but not nearly enough to reach the 5,292 members of Greek Life at LSU.
In the past, reporters from The Daily Reveille have prodded the LSU Greek Life office for numbers concerning this dearth of diversity, specifically a breakdown of chapters by race.
Conveniently, the office does not keep those records. They can tell you how high Greek Life GPA is until they lose their voice, but when an uncomfortable subject comes up — silence.
Racism isn’t limited to having racial slurs as part of your rotating vocabulary. Racism, especially in the South, can and has developed to include subtleties of tone, mannerisms or practices. Take talking in a slower, more deliberate tone or bluntly asking someone what country they’re from as prime examples.
Therein lies the problem with LSU Greek Life. Its members are thoroughly uneducated to know the intricate nature of racism and how it can be viewed by minorities in their campus community. I know from firsthand experience.
I joined The Daily Reveille’s staff after I completed my first semester. Suddenly, I’m a part of a newspaper that boasts incredible diversity and people from every walk of life that I now call my dearest confidants and friends. When I became sports editor two falls ago, one of my first tasks was to introduce myself to the full staff in the Journalism Building as part of training week.
That’s when I made one of the most ignorant statements of my life.
“Guys, The Reveille is great,” I told the room of about 90 people. “You meet so many different people. I would have never hung out with most of these people had I not started working here.”
My co-managing editor and a few veteran reporters still like to kid with me about it to this day. Everyone thought it was douchey (it was), but they understood I didn’t mean it in a demeaning way.
Thing was, I never knew it could be taken in a demeaning way. I know now, and I’m still learning, but my situation is a microcosm of the issues facing LSU Greek Life. Knowing the complexities of discrimination and racism is a continuous learning experience, and Greek Life — an organization run by someone who thinks it’s “not fair” to answer questions about it — doesn’t provide its members an environment where this learning can be continued, or even started.
That being said, a lack of education doesn’t excuse what happened in Norman, Oklahoma, and it won’t excuse any LSU Greek who may feel compelled to perform a similar action.
There’s no serum Guillory can distribute or a light switch she can hit to magically make the entire campus love one another.
But a step in the right direction is to educate. To educate Greek members that racism, in any form, is not OK and will not be tolerated at the state’s flagship university. Have plans in place to deal with members who don’t agree with that sentiment. And to make Greek Life a world no one is scared to enter and everyone is welcome to have the same fulfilling, rewarding experience I’ve had.
Seems pretty fair to me.
You can reach Chandler Rome on Twitter @Chandler_Rome.