This weekend’s Salt ‘N’ Pepper — an event coordinators hoped would bring white and black Greeks together — had participation from many black students, but few white students.
Omega Psi Phi, a black fraternity, acted as the primary planner for the event. Pi Kappa Alpha, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Chi, all traditionally white fraternities, had also agreed to act as sponsors, but few members from those organizations attended.
The weekend consisted of three events, a black-and-white semi-formal at SoGo Live Friday night, a yard sale at the African American Cultural Center Saturday morning and a picnic on the Parade Ground Saturday afternoon.
Six hundred people — what the club owner described as a normal Friday night attendance — went to the semi-formal party. SoGo had been decorated with black-and-white balloons and tablecloths, and a red carpet led from the entrance to the doorway of the club.
Students who attended the party had to pay a cover charge of $10 for males and $5 for females. The owner of the bar then made a donation of $250 to the charities that Salt ‘N’ Pepper was raising money for at the next day’s yard sale — the Tsunami Victims’ Fund, the Save the Children Education Fund and the Save the Children Legal Defense Fund.
Despite Friday night’s rain, many students attended the event, as well as other people that Steve Brockington, Salt ‘N’ Pepper coordinator and a member of Omega Psi Phi, described as VIPs.
Among the special guests were Bradie James, University alumnus who plays football for the Dallas Cowboys, Cupid, a musician from Lafayette, and Elysian Fieldz, a rising musical group from Baton Rouge.
Of the 600 students in attendance, only about 20 were white students. The president of Tau Kappa Epsilon, Tommy Fertel, and several members of the fraternity Sigma Nu — a fraternity that co-founded Salt ‘N’ Pepper and was suspended from campus in February 2004 — were in attendance as well as a few other white students.
But a hope for diversity carried through the night, despite the lack of diversity at the event.
Cupid said he wished more cities would host an event like Salt ‘N’ Pepper.
“We need unity,” he said. “We are all individuals regardless of what fraternity or sorority, and we all need love.”
Kiran Gullage, a member of the band Se7en, which was unable to play because of the rain, said the idea of a party intended to bring blacks and whites together was a good idea.
“We need to come together because we can’t make it without each other these days,” said Gullage, who is also a student at ITT Technical College in New Orleans.
Collins Phillips, the president of Omega Psi Phi, said the idea of a party to bring black and white races together was not a one-step solution to solving the problem of racial division on campus.
“It kind of softens the issue and brings us closer together,” Phillips said. “Maybe this is the first step of many.”
Donald Washington, a joint owner of a student-owned publicity business, It’s Time Productions, agreed that the party was a first step toward unity.
“The students should be the first step, and the administration then play their role,” Washington said.
The Salt ‘N’ Pepper yard sale was held the next day at the AACC. Coordinator Dewi Purnamasari, a graduate assistant at the AACC and a student from Indonesia, collected donations and assembled several tables of clothes and trinkets for sale at 9 a.m. Saturday.
“A lot of people have parties,” she said of her options to hold activities at the AACC as a graduate student. “I choose to do this. It’s for a good cause.”
Brockington said that after the donations from Friday night and the yard sale on Saturday, the groups had raised about $380 — about $125 per a charity. He said they did not reach their goal of $1,000 for each charity, but were happy to see any money raised for the charities.
After the yard sale, a picnic, called “Greeknic” was held on the Parade Ground. DJ Bootsie from Max 94.1 played music on stage, and members of Omega Psi Phi barbecued chicken for picnic attendants.
Members of most National Panhellenic Council fraternities and sororities — the predominately black organizations — attended the picnic.
Members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon also attended the picnic. They were the only traditionally white Greek organization in attendance.
Kenny Hebert, a history sophomore and member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, said it was upsetting to see the lack of white Greek participation.
“Maybe some people are too closed-minded to come out,” Hebert said. “I don’t know why. We’re having a good time.”
Mark Dixon, a general studies sophomore and member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, said he was also disappointed in the lack of white participation.
“It’s their loss,” he said. “We’re having fun, eating great food, mingling, meeting new people and making new friends.”