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Article Evaluation

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The "Women's Studies" page on Wikipedia has articles that are all relevant to the topic. Nothing on the page distracted me. Everything seems so well put together and neutral that it makes me more interested in the topic. All the citation links work and are all reliable.

Racism in Greek Life

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*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternities_and_sororities

We would like to add a section to the “Fraternities and sororities” Wikipedia page that highlights the issue of racism in Greek life on college campuses.

Sources:

Senam:

Tanya:

  • Goettsch, J. & Hayes, M., “Racism and Sexism in Greek Events.” NASPA Journal. February

2015. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00220973.1990.11072189?needAccess=true

Melissa:

Harris, F., & Harper, S. R. (2014). Beyond bad behaving brothers: productive performances of

masculinities among college fraternity men. International Journal Of Qualitative Studies In Education (QSE), 27(6), 703-723.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=75269563-9641-471e-a958-e653f5751157%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=96120427&db=a9h

Cabrera, N. L. (2014). Exposing whiteness in higher education: white male college students

minimizing racism, claiming victimization, and recreating white supremacy. Race, Ethnicity & Education, 17(1), 30-55.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=8&sid=75269563-9641-471e-a958-e653f5751157%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=92774310&db=a9h

Hunter, J., & Hughey, M. (2013). 'It's not written on their skin like it is ours': Greek letter

organizations in the age of the multicultural imperative. Ethnicities, 13(5), 519-543. http://www.jstor.org.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/stable/43586612

Siryi

Vanessa Reis:

Chang, Clio (2014). Separate but Unequal in College Greek Life. Retrieved February 20,

2018, from

https://tcf.org/content/commentary/separate-but-unequal-in-college-greek-life/

Chang, Clio (2015). At Sororities, Likeness Becomes Alikeness. Retrieved February 21,

2018, from

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2015/02/25/sorority-segregation-is-a-serious-issue

Quinlan, Casey (2016). Fraternities Were Built On Racism. So Why Are We Surprised

When They Do Racist Things? Retrieved February 21, 2018, from

https://thinkprogress.org/fraternities-were-built-on-racism-so-why-are-we-surprised-when-they-do-racist-things-70db8f20aeec/

WA4: Lead Section Outline: Racism in Greek Life

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Tanya (Historical Context of Racism)

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Racism in Greek Life has also been linked to incidents of microaggression, fewer opportunities for students of color to use the networking system built into Greek life, and the promotion of harmful stereotypes. Racism is the prejudice or discrimination against someone of a different race, due to the belief that one race is superior to the other. This fuels the experiences of people of color throughout their lives in various academic, work, and personal spaces, including Greek Life Organizations. Through the creation of these organizations, there has been a legacy of racism, which has fueled the elitist structure that has negatively impacted people of color.

Vanessa (Historical Context of Racism)

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Greek Life unfortunately has a long history of racist policies, which contributed to current day racism and lack of diversity in many Greek organizations. Although WGLOs eliminated official policies prohibiting race-based membership at the end of the 1960s, these clauses were only one cause of racism, and left WGLOs with many other means of maintaining racist and exclusive practices. Instead of moving towards integration in Greek Life following the elimination of explicitly racist policies, Greek organizations continued their racist practices by using more informal means of discrimination. This is often seen through de facto segregation, white supremacist overtones at Greek parties and events, mock “slave auctions”, and accounts of white fraternity members dressing in “black face” (Holguin 2002; Hughey 2009; Plotkin 1993).

Siryi (Connection between the homogeneity/elitist structure of WGLO that fosters instances of racism)

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Although Greek life organizations eliminated policies that directly allow the exclusion of minorities, the effects of these policies linger. Since their foundations were built on biased practices, they continue to provide a structure that enforces white ethnocentrism and conformity among its members. Because Greek life organizations are pressured to integrate people of color, they do so under conditions that they themselves set (Bryson 1996). This puts those people of color who want to join into a dangerous position where they both have to “perform” and embrace their ethnic differences, while at the same time assimilating to traditional practices that encourage homogeneity.  (Laird 2005:373)

Senam (Variance in Experience  for POC in WGLO)

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The experiences of racism that people of color face in Greek Life range from seeing their white peers use blackface as a form of humor to being more harshly judged when they do not participate in events that are not congruent with their own beliefs. The use of blackface as a form of humor or entertainment has a lasting legacy in all aspects of American society, including Greek life. This legacy stretches from Mark Twain’s fondness of shows with performers in blackface (McCoy, 2009) to current Halloween costumes. Another example of the racialized experiences that members of color have faced are when Latino members of White Greek Life Organizations also felt as though they were labeled, due to racial stereotypes, as being lazy if they didn’t participate in networking opportunities (Hughey, 2010).

Melissa (Formation of multicultural/racially and ethnically diverse Greek organizations)

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As Greek Letter Organizations (GLOs) begin to form multicultural and ethnically diverse councils and organizations, they still do not encourage authentic racial identities. Multicultural Greek Letter Organizations' (MGLOs) main purpose is to include racially diverse students, as opposed to already formed White GLOs (Hunter & Hughey, 2013). However, the definition of multicultural and diversity that these MGLOs are trying to represent is unclear, ultimately creating tension between emphasizing only diverse races or diverse experiences. Also, the difficulty of White GLOs' superiority and impactful influence on MGLOs and regular non-white GLOs (Hughey, 2010).

WA5: Final Version: Racism in Greek Life

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Racism in Greek Life has been linked to the experience of microaggressions, fewer opportunities to use the networking system built into Greek life, and harmful stereotypes. This fuels the experiences of people of color throughout their lives in various academic, work, and personal spaces, including Greek Life Organizations (GLOs). Through the creation of these organizations, there has been a legacy of racism, which has fueled the elitist structure that has negatively impacted people of color.

Greek life has a long history of policies that have contributed to racism and lack of diversity in many Greek organizations. In resistance to racism in GLOs, in the early 1920s, according to Hunter and Hughey, Black GLOs were founded.[1] Members of other racial groups began to form their own fraternities and sororities. For instance, the first Hispanic fraternity was founded in 1931. In 1948, the first MGLO fraternity was founded at the University of Toledo and in 1981, the first MGLO sorority was founded at Rutgers University. More MGLOs were founded “nationally and locally” the following years to continue as a “foundation transcending racial, national, and religious differences”.[2] Soon after, Multicultural Greek Councils were formed to govern affiliated MGLOs, both national or local fraternities and sororities.

By the end of the 1960s, White Greek Life Organizations (WGLOs) eliminated official policies that prohibited race-based membership. However abolishing these clauses did not prevent GLOs from using other means of maintaining racist and exclusive practices. Following the elimination of explicitly racist policies, Greek organizations sustained their racist practices through more informal means of discrimination.[3] This is often seen through forms of de facto segregation, white supremacist overtones at Greek parties and events,[4] mock “slave auctions”, and accounts of white fraternity members dressing in “blackface”.[5] For instance, several white fraternities have been found building homecoming floats with racist themes, staging racist skits, and holding parties with racist themes.[6] Furthermore, in terms of de facto segregation, despite eliminating racially exclusionary policies, many white Greek life organizations failed to actively pursue and promote new members of color. Therefore, lack of diversity within Greek Life organizations remains relatively unchanged.

People of color continue to feel marginalized within these organizations. Because the foundations of Greek life were built on biased practices, WGLOs continue to provide a structure that enforces euro-centrism and conformity among its members. Although Greek systems today are not divided into separate racial categories, GLOs are still viewed as the desirable option when it comes to seeking membership[7], because they historically have had more access to resources and networking opportunities that people in non-white GLOs do not. At the present moment, WGLOs are pressured to integrate people of color, but they do so under conditions that they set themselves.[8] This puts those people of color wanting to join in positions where they both have to “perform” and embrace their ethnic differences, while trying to assimilate to traditional practices that encourage homogeneity.[9]

People of color face wide-ranging forms of discrimination in Greek life. Members of color see white peers use blackface as a form of humor and they are more harshly judged when they do not participate in events that are incongruent with their personal beliefs. The use of blackface as a form of humor or entertainment has a lasting legacy in all aspects of American society, including Greek Life. This legacy stretches from Mark Twain’s fondness for shows with performers in blackface[10] to current Halloween costumes. Another example of the racialized experiences that members of color face are when Latinx members of WGLOs feel as though they are being labeled as lazy if they chose not to participate in networking opportunities. Labels like these are products of racial stereotypes about Latinx people.[11]

GLOs are beginning to form multicultural and ethnically diverse councils and organizations, in an attempt to allow the experiences of minorities to be heard. The purpose of Multicultural Greek Life Organizations (MGLOs) is to promote racial diversity and to create spaces that are more conducive to the advancement of students of color as opposed to the pre-established structure of WGLOs.[12]

  1. ^ W. Hughey, Matthew (2010). "A Paradox of Participation: Nonwhites in White Sororities and Fraternities". Social Problems. 57 (4): 653–679. doi:10.1525/sp.2010.57.4.653.
  2. ^ Hunter, Joanna S.; Hughey, Matthew W. (2013). "'It's not written on their skin like it is ours': Greek letter organizations in the age of the multicultural imperative". Ethnicities. 13 (5): 519–543.
  3. ^ Hughey, Matthew W. (2010-11-01). "A Paradox of Participation: Nonwhites in White Sororities and Fraternities". Social Problems. 57 (4): 653–679. doi:10.1525/sp.2010.57.4.653. ISSN 0037-7791.
  4. ^ Parks, Gregory (2008-06-13). Black Greek-letter Organizations in the Twenty-First Century: Our Fight Has Just Begun. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813172950.
  5. ^ "Blackface Debate In Virginia". Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  6. ^ R., Feagin, Joe (1996). The agony of education : Black students at white colleges and universities. Vera, Hernan, 1937-, Imani, Nikitah, 1967-. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415915120. OCLC 33947705.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Hughey, Matthew W. (2010-11-01). "A Paradox of Participation: Nonwhites in White Sororities and Fraternities". Social Problems. 57 (4): 653–679. doi:10.1525/sp.2010.57.4.653. ISSN 0037-7791.
  8. ^ Bryson, Bethany (1996). ""Anything But Heavy Metal": Symbolic Exclusion and Musical Dislikes". American Sociological Review. 61 (5): 884–899. doi:10.2307/2096459.
  9. ^ Schwalbe, Michael; Godwin, Sandra; Holden, Daphne; Schrock, Douglas; Thompson, Shealy; Wolkomir, Michele (2000). "Generic Processes in the Reproduction of Inequality: An Interactionist Analysis". Social Forces. 79 (2): 419–452. doi:10.2307/2675505.
  10. ^ McCoy, Sharon D. (2009-04-18). ""The Trouble Begins at Eight": Mark Twain, the San Francisco Minstrels, and the Unsettling Legacy of Blackface Minstrelsy". American Literary Realism. 41 (3): 232–248. doi:10.1353/alr.0.0022. ISSN 1940-5103.
  11. ^ Hughey, Matthew W. (2010-11-01). "A Paradox of Participation: Nonwhites in White Sororities and Fraternities". Social Problems. 57 (4): 653–679. doi:10.1525/sp.2010.57.4.653. ISSN 0037-7791.
  12. ^ Hunter, Joanna S.; Hughey, Matthew W. (2013). "'It's not written on their skin like it is ours': Greek letter organizations in the age of the multicultural imperative". Ethnicities. 13 (5): 519–543.
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