The sororities on Lakeshore Drive are not just for white students.
Courtney Rawls, a Phi Mu sorority member, knows from firsthand experience that this statement is a fact. She calls Phi Mu’s large white-columned house a home despite her dark skin.
Rawls and everyone interviewed for this story agreed — the days of white-only membership clauses for Greek organizations are long gone. The University’s current system relies on individual personality rather than skin color as a determining factor for intake.
Still, many people recognize that skin color divides LSU Greeks. Normally, white students will join traditionally white organizations and black students will join traditionally black organizations.
So, while today’s Greeks may face few race-related problems, a racial barrier exists.
To complicate the story even more, many said that barrier sometimes occurs naturally because of the values people emphasize. Other times it does not.
Being black in
a white sorority
Rawls, a mass communication sophomore, is black. But, when she came to the University this past year, she pledged a traditionally white sorority.
“The main thing I wanted to do was meet people,” said Rawls, who also recently earned the Miss LSU title.
For her, the decision to join her organization was simple. She liked Phi Mu, its president and its members. She liked what the organization stood for and the “vibe” she got when she first visited it.
The fact that she was the first black woman to join a white Greek organization at LSU almost slipped her mind.
“I didn’t really get that it was a big deal until after the fact,” Rawls said.
On her first day of school — the day when new members wear shirts announcing their pledge to a Greek organization — people went up to Rawls in shock, she said.
“It’s not like that on the West Coast or up north,” said Rawls, who is originally from the Shreveport area. “You have all kinds of people in sororities.”
She now can see some ripples of what she thinks a black woman joining a traditionally white sorority meant to people here, though.
Rawls refused to point fingers at any person or organization, but said she has heard her skin color was an issue during recruitment, particularly with chapter alumni. It prevented her from being accepted into some other organizations, though she set out to join Phi Mu anyway.
Given that the University is in the South, Rawls knows her affiliation marked a step for many.
It is a step forward she hopes will be followed, she said.
And following Rawls’ lead, Arielle Jordan, a mass communication sophomore and biracial student, pledged Delta Gamma sorority this year.
A few other male and female students in the past couple of years have bypassed race barriers in both traditionally white and traditionally black Greek organizations. This includes a couple other biracial women in traditionally white sororities, a white man in the traditionally black fraternity Omega Psi Phi, and a black man in the traditionally white Lambda Chi Alpha.
The experience has been positive for both Jordan and Rawls. Both said their affiliation was one of the best decisions they have ever made. They enjoy the Greek experience as a whole.
Neither regrets their decision. And, neither said she experienced any prejudices after joining her sorority.
Rawls is not naive. She knows in reality some racism always exists — in the LSU Greek system just as any other part of society. But her skin color has not affected her Greek experience.
“I’ve always been picked up at the house for exchanges and thrown over the guys’ shoulders,” Rawls said of her interaction with other Greek members. “Maybe that’s because I’ve always held my head up high. But really, there is no reason to treat me different.”
Setting up the backdrop
Neither Rawls nor Jordan could have joined their respective sororities a generation or two ago.
According to Greek Affairs Director Victor Felts, many traditionally white Greek organizations had white-only clauses in their bylaws to prevent black students from joining. This is the reason traditionally black Greek organizations exist, he said.
No traditionally white Greek organizations still have white-only clauses preventing black membership. But the existence of traditionally black organizations and their values strongly influences how students affiliate today.
Society has come a long way since the days of segregation, Felts said. Most LSU Greeks don’t turn away members of other races, but probably don’t actively recruit them.
“I think that’s the way that our culture is. People like to associate with like people,” Felts said.
Felts also thinks students come onto campus with the perception that separate races are supposed to join separate Greek organizations. Only a handful of black students have participated in the recruitment process for traditionally white organizations and few white students ever show up to traditionally black organization informational meetings.
The barriers:
perception,
commonality
and alumni
From the traditionally black Omega Psi Phi member to the traditionally white Kappa Alpha Theta sorority member, most Greek students on campus do not see a racial division between organizations as a major problem in the system.
It’s not something that causes conflict. The separation is by choice. And defying the norm always is an option — one that students such as Rawls have exercised.
University studies senior Natalie Hebert argued racial barriers are possibly a consequence of students affiliating where they feel most comfortable. Though she is not part of the Greek community, Hebert has never heard of the different organizations fighting and therefore does not consider the barriers a problem.
But these same Greek students, and a few more non-Greek students, questioned why the norm must be the way it is.
Paddy Hill, a pharmacy sophomore, said she always has wondered why she never has seen a black student in a white organization.
“Why is race an issue?” asked Hill, who is not in a sorority.
Hill wondered why students must feel more comfortable in groups separated by race.
“Why are things understood to be this way?” she asked.
Problem or not, most Greek students attribute existing racial barriers in the system to three things: perceptions during recruitment, gravitation toward commonality and alumni control.
As Felts mentioned earlier, few students try to join organizations associated with another race. This is despite the fact that for the past two years, every incoming freshman has received information about all Greek organizations — black and white.
Specifically for traditionally white sororities, the homogenous recruitment process on Sorority Row does not surprise Jordan. She thinks many people fear rushing into an organization of a different racial make-up.
“It’s kind of intimidating. People just assume you have to be white,” Jordan said.
Lambda Chi Alpha President Nick Arnold, a business administration senior, is less likely to believe the fear factor. He instead thinks the existence of traditionally black Greek organizations tells new students “this is what black people do.”
Arnold related the problem to what he thinks will happen if Sigma Alpha Mu, a traditionally Jewish fraternity, forms on campus. Incoming Jewish students will join this fraternity instead of others.
“It might make us look bad,” Arnold said about the lack of Jewish and Latino students then joining traditionally white fraternities.
The same would be true if Greek Affairs encourages the formation of a Latino sorority and fraternity next year. But a more diverse Greek community is the goal, Felts said. Once diverse organizations exist, the Greek community would benefit from the diverse interactions across organizations.
Feeding off Arnold’s comments about the Jewish and Latino organizations, Jordan understands why a biracial student such as herself may one day want to join a biracial organization.
She might not, though, because she is not sure if she would identify best with people based only on skin color.
“We should say people of certain races automatically feel more comfortable with people of their own race,” Jordan said.
Regardless, Jordan suggested people join the organizations they identify best with.
This leads to commonality.
Marcus Bowman, president of Pi Kappa Alpha and a kineseology junior, said commonality is important in the Greek community.
Organizations don’t necessarily want one type of person. Pi Kappa Alpha, for example, searches for a mixture of scholars, leaders, athletes and gentlemen. But, every organization has something its members can relate to, he said.
By emphasizing commonality, natural barriers arise between different organizations. Natural barriers are not put up to exclude certain races, but students admit race acts as a form of commonality.
There is a benefit to associating with like people. Students earn confidence in the things they do, said Chris Hester, president of Sigma Phi Epsilon and a university studies junior. And no student should ever pay to join an organization they are not comfortable in, he said.
On the other hand, Hester thinks diversity can help students learn about other cultures better. He and many others agreed a solution to barriers based on commonality is better cooperation across organizations.
“Instead of focusing on our differences, we should take pride in being a Greek community,” Hester said.
Hester and Arnold cited the meetings of all Greek presidents as a way of uniting the Greek community.
“Everyone gets along,” Hester said. “Everyone respects everyone.”
The third possible reason barriers occur is somewhat out of the control of today’s members. Specifically in traditionally white sororities, the organizations’ alumni have influential control over the intake process.
Both Jordan and Bowman recognize some organizations may be open to a specific member, when alumni are not.
Jordan said she heard alumni argued over whether or not to allow Rawls into Phi Mu.
“It is a reflection of the old ways versus the new way,” Jordan said.
Alumni advising also is the way for upholding ideals for the sorority. The clash occurs when the new ideals do not agree with the pre-established ones.
“As of now, I think it’s still a pretty big deal,” Jordan said.
Changing traditions takes time
Those who want to know what the University’s Greek system will be like in 20 years should look to how Greek systems already are in the Northeast, Bowman said.
“It’s more integrated, but you still have some separation,” he said.
All students interviewed agreed a time would come when the racial gaps between groups will be less obvious. Bowman said many organizations such as his own already have members from a variety of backgrounds.
Changing the norm will take time, though. It probably will take a generation of people thinking beyond the traditional ways before real change occurs.
Rawls hopes her presence in the system reinforces that change.
“We live in the South and people see color here,” Rawls said. “It wouldn’t get attention if it didn’t.”
She doesn’t believe the change should be something forced, though.
The fact that she did end up joining an old sorority with Southern values gives her hope. She is an optimistic person and plans to push for more exchanges or social events between Phi Mu and traditionally-black organizations.
“I’m not jaded about anything that goes on. The system is not perfect, nothing is perfect,” Rawls said. “But, there are a lot of people here with a progressive mindset who want to see us move forward.”
For example, just about every student interviewed mentioned exchanges between black and white Greek groups now are more common.
Arnold and Hester said parties always are more fun when the Alphas, or members of the traditionally black Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, are around.
Traditionally black fraternity Omega Psi Phi has scheduled an exchange with traditionally white Delta Gamma sorority this Thursday.
Women in traditionally black Delta Sigma Theta also recently invited Delta Gamma members to club Upscale, according to Krystle Prudhomme, who organized the Delta ‘Nic step show in early March.
Delta ‘Nic was a step show and picnic Delta Sigma Theta organized to reach out to all Greeks, especially Deltas.
“There is no way of going around it. There is a racial issue [in the Greek system] and it is a racial gap that is hard to bridge,” Prudhomme said.
Groups are making progress when interaction is initiated, she said.
The Greek community is embracing diversity at a slow place, Felts said. But, that pace is not so much slower than the rest of campus.
Arnold thinks there is more of a culture for diversity now than when he arrived on campus three years ago.
Lawrence Johnson, a marketing senior and Omega Psi Phi member, thinks collaboration could help.
The solution may be more knowledge about each other’s traditions and activities. Johnson also suggested a large informal gathering of everyone in the Greek community.
No such gatherings currently exist.
Kappa Alpha Theta sorority member and mass communication junior Liza Ortego said, “We all have something in common and people forget that.”
The Greek Board of Directors is interested in building a Greek common house, a place where everyone in the Greek community can gather. Plans call for the house in spring of 2005, said Emily Courtney, a Kappa Kappa Gamma member and English sophomore.
Felts said Greek leaders also are in the process of coming up with a list of goals, such as the University’s Vision 2010 goals, to put the system in line with the direction the campus is headed. Diversity and race conversations need to be involved in that process, he said.
Simply talking about breaking down racial barriers in the Greek system will not be enough, though.
Rawls knows talk often dies down after a while if people don’t act. She equated it to plans that often fizzle after returning home from camp or a retreat.
“What do you do when you get back? Nothing,” she said. “Talking is the first step. But then we have to make an effort.”