Meet the Greeks!!!

The “Meet the Greeks!” program hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council of the University of Tennessee was tonight at seven o’clock pm at the University Center Auditorium.

This program allowed for the minority Greek letter organizations to introduce themselves to the UT community or, as one member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Ahkeeia Payne happily stated—“let people get to know the Greeks a little bit better!” Shawn Turner, the current president for NPHC played as the event’s host and mediator. Opening up the program with the usual UT mandated policy on the fire exits, Turner gave a brief history on the origins of NPHC, and stated the council’s aims and goals. NPHC is composed of these nine Greek Letter organizations: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. In the UTK council, the only two organizations not present are Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. The Gamma Gamma Chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Sorority, Inc. is affiliated with UTK council on campus, however the national organization is not a standing member of NPHC nationally.

Shawn Turner then moved the focus of the program to the seated panelists representing each of the present Greek letter organizations on campus: George Carpten IV for Alpha Phi Alpha; Britney Holmes, president of Alpha Kappa Alpha; Brandon Holbrook Northington McMurry for Kappa Alpha Psi; Michael Russom, the immediate past president of Phi Beta Sigma; the vice president of Delta Sigma Theta Dominique Boyd; Angelica Guzman president of Lambda Theta Alpha; Joshua Woods for Omega Psi Phi.

Each of the panelists gave a brief history of their respective organization, the organization’s motto (“To be of service to all mankind”—Britney Holmes”), goals, aims, current projects, and requirements. Also included were highlights of each chapter’s achievements, such as the Chancellor Citation Awards for both Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma, Lambda Theta Alpha’s raising of $5,000 to a local battered women’s shelter. After the introduction of each organization, Host Turner then read questions submitted anonymously by those in the audience or asked openly by those sitting in the audience. These questions included:

“When and where does your organization do community service?” (Depends)
“Does your organization penalize members for being homosexual or bisexual?” (No)
“Does your fraternity or sorority uphold GPA requirements within the organization?”
“Will legacy guarantee me in an organization?” (“No!”)
“”How often does your organization have intake?” (When needed)
“How many hours does it take to qualify for the application process?” (Varies)
“How similar are UT’s organizations to those on HBCUs?”
“How does life change after you become Greek?”
“How do you feel about the stereotypes that surround your organization?”
“What happens after undergrad?”
“How does the organization feel about accepting non minorities?”
“What are the expected financial costs in becoming a member of your organization?”
“What made you (the panelist) join the organization that you are a member of?”

The answers to these questions ranged from predictable to interesting. For example, on the inquiry about the role of legacy in the application process, a resounding “no” basically came from all the panelists. On the inquiry regarding the personal choices of the panelists on their respective organizations, Brandon McMurry recounted the story of how one of the founders of Kappa Alpha Psi ended up dropping out of school, and told how this story resonated with circumstances in his life. Other panelists told of how they grew up around family and church members who were Greek, or in researching the histories of the different organizations—Dominique Boyd and Michael Russom—the actions, beliefs, and stances of their organizations resonated with them. Another great question that elicited great responses from the panelists dealt with the issue of stereotypes with Greek Letter Organizations.

Although the answers from the panelists were in some ways similar on this issue, in other ways each panelist gave their own individual twist in their responses, such as Brandon’s examples of how easily stereotypes can be created—“How many of yall like chicken?”—or George Carpten’s illustration of how members of Alpha Phi Alpha are depicted as “nerds.” All in all, the program was informative, surprising, and eye opening. Vastly better than my first “Meet the Greeks” experience!