This past Labor Day weekend I had the challenge of making some relevant and penetrating remarks to the Black Greek-letter organization (“BGLO”) community and interested students at Prairie View A & M University. Yes, I mean that Prairie View, the same place where a Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity aspirant—Donnie Wade—was allegedly killed as a result of hazing activities just last year. It was the first time that I had been asked to speak at a university that was, itself, under so much scrutiny. My message was simple: BGLOs were founded with a certain organizational identity in mind; they have remained faithful to that identity in some ways, but largely, they have drifted. As such, it is up to the members and aspiring members to be what the founders intended them to be so that they can make BGLOs what BGLOs were intended to be.
The symposium was, a kind of, one-two punch. I went first. Philander Smith President and BGLO expert, Dr. Walter Kimbrough, went second. I framed what BGLOs should be, in a global sense. Dr. Kimbrough dealt squarely with the issue of hazing. Interestingly, at one point in his talk, Dr. Kimbrough underscored why it is difficult to make any true headway with regard to solving the hazing issue within BGLOs. He noted, and quite appropriately, that many BGLO members see themselves as a BGLO expert. Consequently, those with the most minimal of knowledge about BGLOs may present major issues for the organizations. It is a classic example of the cognitive bias, the Dunning-Kruger Effect, where an individual’s incompetence robs them of the ability to be introspective enough to realize when they reach erroneous conclusions and make poor decisions. In the BGLO context, for example, you see it where members use the “tradition” excuse for hazing. It goes something like this: “The reason I hit John in the chest with a 2×4 is because it is fraternity tradition.” An even cursory reading of fraternity history undercuts this argument, but these individuals don’t seek-out BGLO-related knowledge when they already believe they have cornered the market on it. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
But just as I opened my Prairie View speech, that I am indeed critical of BGLO undergrads, I believe that there is also enough blame to go around. And one group that deserves its fair share of critique are Student Affairs and Greek Life personnel who are charged with advising BGLO collegiates. Anecdotally, while I have met a number of Greek Affairs advisors who are knowledgeable about BGLOs, I have also met more than my fair share that are not (but believe that they are). Forthcoming research on Greek Affairs advisors’ cultural competence about BGLOs underscores my concern.
A rebuttal to this is that on many campuses with National Pan-Hellenic Council (“NPHC”) chapters, many Greek Affairs offices hire NPHC-affiliated graduate or professional students to work the collegiate BGLOs. This is problematic, however, for a host of reasons. For one, often-times BGLO members lack a robust understanding of their own groups, especially sufficient enough to advise collegiate BGLO chapters. As such, many Greek Affairs offices create a situation analogous to a physician having a limited knowledge of its patient’s symptoms and possible remedies, so the physician looks to its nurse in the hopes that the nurse will address the issue. If this is the case, a new paradigm is needed.
Undergraduate BGLO members and chapters, to the extent that they fail to live up to organizational ideals, are handicapped in part because of their own actions. But those who are reportedly responsible for their success—chapter alum, local alumni chapters, fraternity/sorority leadership, NPHC—have also failed them. And this failure extends to Greek Affairs advisors. I will not lie, I enjoy being invited to college campuses and speaking to BGLO undergraduates, but the truth of the matter is that BGLO lectures do little to educate Greek Affairs advisors and likely have no long-term beneficial impact on a campus. What seems to enhance Greek advisors’ cultural competence about BGLOs is reading the most recent scholarship on these groups. Accordingly, if Greek Affairs advisors hope to live up to name “student affairs professionals,” they should do what professionals in other disciplines, like medicine or law, must do—remain current with the research and best practices in their area. To do otherwise is tantamount to malpractice or ineffective assistance in the advising context.
So what is a solution? My recommendation is that the same way that various entities ensure that physicians and attorneys, for example, remain current with bodies of knowledge in their respective fields and render the best possible service to their patients/clients, Greek Affairs needs a similar body with a similar objective. The two most likely candidates are NASPA and the Association of Fraternity and Sorority Advisors. Either of these bodies, I suggest, should take it upon itself to set standards for Greek advising and routinely educate and train advisors about diverse “Greek” populations. Without such an effort, BGLO undergraduates and chapters will continue their steady demise, with the fallout being felt by their broader national organizations, communities they serve, and host institutions.
The recommednation that greek advisors should stay current on their scholastic knowledge of BGLO’s, especially the rich, illuminating history of the NPHC organizations and NPHC itself is a great one! I will repost this article on my blog! – http://www.mwhitesworld.wordpress.com
Thanks for this timely article. The notion that NPHC campus advisors will police NPHC organizations is currently off-based. While the NPHC recommends that universities appoint campus advisors, who from the NPHC is policing the campus advisors? No doubt these NPHC advisors know of and look the other way regarding underground pledging and hazing activities because they went through them. They want everyone else to go through this foolishness too. They dare anyone to speak up and work extremely hard to see that anyone who does speak up is not accepted by others within their own organization and the other orgs. in the 9. Moreover, they use their position power to further their personal agendas on their campus and in their organizations. Educate and police NPHC campus advisors before something happens which will result in the demise of all 9.
….”how can you say you love me if you do not know what hurts me?” Followship can not go easily beyond than direction that “Leaderhip” takes them. Thanks for your words of wisdom. Hopefully all frats and sororities are listening.
Dr. Parks,
To promote extinsive, general knowledge of BGLOs, do you think institutions (colleges and organizations) should add a required reading as apart of MIP (Black Greek 101, African American Fraternites and Sororities)?
One of the things I’ve found is that many collegiate members of the NPHC organizations welcome the “uneducated” Greek advisor. If the person is not well versed in the NPHC orgs, then that person is less likely to be “in their business.” I agree that if you are hired to be the Greek Affairs Advisor, you should be well versed on all of the councils and orgs that you advise. It is not fair to put all of the responsibility on the Graduate Advisor for NPHC because they may be a member of one of the Divine 9 orgs. A graduate student is growing in the profession and many times they are recently removed from the undergraduate experience. When taking on a job, you always have to do your research and stay informed so that you can do an effective, efficient and fair job with ALL of the students you advise.
Hotep (Peace) To All. Brother Parks you are absolutely on the right track. I would like to suggest a pre-step to remaining current in BGLO scholarly information. I believe that there should be a BGLO Advisor Certification Process. Unfortunately I have found on many occassions that the fact that some one has an advanced degree and works on a campus does not necessarily mean they are good candidates for advisory positions. I suspect that some even end up in that position by default. A voluntary certification process would mean that one has made the conscious decision to recieve specialized training to serve as a BGLO Advisor. A secondary requirement could be periodic refresher workshops/classes.
The truth is good enough!!!! Before today I had no consciousness that this apparently vast body of scholarship existed. God is good and this awareness comes at just the right time for me. For the past year I have been serving as the Social Action Committee Chairman for my organization’s grad chapter and as the rep to the area NPHC for the last three years. Some thirty-two years ago I made a highly unusual transition from Revolutionary Pan-Afrikanism to progressive student organizer. I saw pledging as an entry point to a new world. I saw that world as one of the oldest institutions Black Folk had created in America. Asante Sana (thank you very much) Brother Parks. Pamoja Tu Ta Shinda — Together We Will Win. Hotep.
I am an advisor to the Greek Senate on a small, urban PWI in the north east. I am also an educated member of an historically black greek letter organization (1906). I call myself educated because history to me is not the lure and folk stories I was told when on line, but rather the information I have consumed from reading different scholarly works before and after I crossed.
I just want to make two points.
I agree 100% with your assessment that ignorance is bliss among many BGLOs, and that this ignorance is deeply ingrained in BGLO culture. But culture is never easly nor swiftly changed. This is our greatest challenge. I can’t help to laugh when I recall how as a bright eyed aspirant I was asked “why pledge?” by one of the bruhs, and to this my response went something like: “because I want to understand what my enslaved ancestors had to endure.” There must have been an earth quake somewhere as a million slaves turned over in their graves.
Being an Assistant Dean, Greek Senate Advisor, and a member of a BGLO gives me a broad perspective on this issue because not only do I see how lack of factual information is a blemish in the BGLO movement, I can also see how other, younger groups (namely Latin & multi-cultural orgs) mimic this ignorance in an attempt to be respected and accepted by BGLOs (even if done unknowingly). And from a Student Affairs prespective, at least on my campus, the risk of an uneducated GLO community is not given any type of serious thought.