The Event Section

“Superhero 101: Why Be Greek?”

The Commons Theatre filled quickly with students as 7:30 p.m. approached. Many prospects grabbed refreshments and seats, eager to learn more about Greek life. The urgency in the students, set the mood for the discussion forum, “Superhero 101: Why Be Greek?” on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
This annual forum was hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council Advisor (NPHC), Ms. Carolyn Whittier. A panel of nine individuals represented one of the “Divine Nine” sororities and fraternities of the NPHC.
The forum was designed to answer questions about the organizations from non-members. Questions ranged from the stereotypes of these organizations to the process of becoming a life-time member.
To keep the forum organized the panel told the prospects to write their questions on a piece of paper and pass them to the front. Once at the front, the advisor would read them aloud and let any one of the representatives of the nine organizations on the panel answer the questions.
Ashley Tipton, the president of the NPHC; began the forum with a brief definition of seven terms that were signified as NPHC language. The seven terms were call/chat, crossing, interest meeting, intake, new member show, National Pan-Hellenic Council, and yard.
Then Tipton gave an explanation of the nine elements of the “Divine Nine” organizations. These elements are service, scholarship, leadership, sister and brotherhood, NPHC history, time commitment, life long membership, stepping, and significance of hand signs, calling, and sorors.
After the basics were explained, Dr. Whittier presented the questions.
The first question posed was, “Why did you want to join your organization?” Paris Anderson representing the Zeta Phi Beta sorority replied, “For service”. Serita Wilson from the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority replied, “For sisterhood.” Patrick Williams from the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity replied, “For brotherhood and achievement.” Williams also answered the question of what to expect when attending an interest meeting. He replied, “A breakdown of that certain organization. You will ask questions and you will certainly get answers.” Isaac Thomas representing the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, in accordance to the question answered, gave a suggestion for all prospects intending to attend an interest meeting. “Do not attend an interest meeting of a certain organization unless you are 110 percent sure,” Thomas replied, “It will be a waste of your time as well as the organization’s.” There seemed to be a consensus on the panel with his declaration because everyone seemed to follow up with the same statement, “Unless you are serious about this like we were, then don’t bother.”
As the forum progressed, more questions were asked such as, “Do all organizations fellowship with other organizations?”, “What is the appropriate way to introduce yourself to a member?”, and “What is the difference between an informational and interest meeting?” and the panel members were more than happy to answer. Though some of the answers were textbook and rehearsed they were as honest as they could be, considering the venue.
For ill-informed prospects, this forum was perhaps helpful. But for Jamaal Williams, a prospect that has done his research, this forum was a waste of time. “All of the questions that were asked were answers I already knew, I expected them to give me reasons why I should be Greek, not answer questions like ‘What is a rush?’”