TROUBLE IN BAMA

Ever since the story about the Alabama sororities broke I have been debating on whether or not I wanted to post anything about it. It wasn't until I read dozens of comments that I decided to comment.

It is stories like this that set us back. No matter how high our GPAs are, how much money we raise for philanthropies, or how successful we go on to be, behavior like this (read: blatant racism)  sets us back. People already have enough bad things to say about us, but that shouldn't be our reason for not participating in this type of behavior. 

Our reason for not participating in this type of behavior should be that we want our chapters and organizations to constantly evolve into better organizations. It should not matter that a young woman is black, and I will say at many other schools it does not matter. Many other chapters across the country afford women of all races, sexual orientations, and economic backgrounds the opportunity to become members of their organizations. However, this isn't in the news because these are not typically seen as "ideal" Greek systems. Instead that title belongs to systems like the University of Alabama. Large Greek systems that dominate the social scene on campus, have numerous judicial cases each year, and still continue to be viewed as the most premiere.

At the end of the day the only people that can attest that this is not common behavior is us. The public is going to continue to see us in this light unless we give them a reason to see otherwise. I am not saying we should blast Alabama's Greek system, but I am saying that we should be putting out there that we are diversifying our organizations. Our inter/national organizations are encouraging us to do so and that it does fit in with our personal beliefs and values. 

Honestly, I am so glad there are women in Alabama's Greek community, particularly in the chapters that are being talked about, defending the two young women that were not selected for membership. It shows a lot of strong character, but I wish it were not an issue to begin with.