I put off reading about the racial scandal at University of Alabama. I ignored the rumors and scrolled past the posts on Facebook. Today I gave in and read an article in the College section of the Huffington Post. That article can be found here:
The fact that this injustice stems from the alumni is embarrassing. I can only hope this is all a HUGE misunderstanding, but the evidence is stacking up. In my advising of Phi Lambda, sure, I give my opinion freely. My advisory board and I would never in a million years weigh in on not giving a girl a bid based on her skin color. This chapter would join me in saying we welcome all exceptional women, regardless of race, orientation, religion or otherwise. A good active sister is a good active sister.
I am horrified that this kind of discrimination still exists in such a high volume in the Southeast. Living in Atlanta, diversity is a gimme. It is hard to imagine calling someplace a home where I expect everyone to look, dress, and act exactly like me.
This is why I love my founders. In a time where is was uncommon for women to attend professional schools, these 5 LAW STUDENTS (who just happened to be Jewish) made history as one of the first non-sectarian, social sororities. Non-sectarian meaning we do not associate our sorority with any specific religion, and do not discriminate based on religious affiliation. The DIMES looked in the face of discrimination, smiled politely with that "oh, honey, bless your heart" smile (or the northern colloquial equivalent), and created something even better.Committed to inspiring well-rounded women through the bonds of sisterhood to live a life of leadership and service.
I must go on record that I have raised my expectations of University of Alabama Panhellenic Sororities after this event. The collegiate women of those chapters should feel after this unfortunate publicity, they have a much bigger voice when it comes to who they deem fit to call a sister. They will be scrutinized, yes, that is for certain. But, I guarantee no one will allow this to happen again on the UA campus for a very long time. I wish them well.
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