The University Of Alabama landed on the national radar after news broke four predominately white sororities at the school failed to admit two qualified black women to its ranks. After a week of unwanted bad publicity, the school has announced it will change the recruitment process into the white Greek organizations which could allow the women to cross into their ranks.
The segregation of UA‘s sororities was exposed last week in the school’s newspaper, The Crimson White. In the piece, a bold declaration by Alpha Gamma Delta member Melanie Gotz asking about a potential black line sister was highlighted. According to the paper, the anonymous recruit hit all the marks needed to be admitted into the sorority but Gotz alleges she was denied a bid from the groups because she was black.
“People are too scared of what the repercussions are of maybe taking a black girl,” Gotz said to the Crimson. “That’s stupid, but who’s going to be the one to make that jump? How much longer is it going to take till we have a black girl in a sorority? It’s been years, and it hasn’t happened.”
The woman was also blocked admittance to the school’s Delta Delta Delta sorority allegedly for race reasons as well. Not much was written on the challenges the other woman faced, but it was reported by TIME that alumnae of the sororities threatened to stop financial support if either of the black women were admitted.
In response, the University has announced it will allow sororities to offer new bids to potential members who didn’t pass the recruitment round. The deal was hammered out over the weekend, and should the women accept the offer, it would be the first time an all-white sorority has been racially integrated. But according to one sorority member, the action from UA still rings hollow.
“I think that the only time the administration or the sororities would ever take accountability for something is when there’s all this outside pressure,” said Yardena Wolf of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. “I wish it could be coming more from a place of love during real rush, and I wish this had happened a month ago.”
[Props to Gawker]
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