College: Greek Organizations

In 537 days and 10 mins I will be a high school graduate preparing to move the hell out ASAP! lmao jk, kinda

I'm college searching right now. I'm not loving the cold weather like I used to, and I never like the humidity (I live in Ohio, the most bipolar state EVER ; not just the weather, politics, population, acts of discrimination, you catch my drift lol)

I was looking at the University of California-Berkeley, among 5 other colleges, and I have found this to be an alarming trend...

...........No AKA (Alpha Kappa Alpha) sorority????..........

APA (Alpha Phi Alpha; AKA's brothers) are present, but not AKA? Aren't they "kindred organizations"?

Why isn't the first African-American sorority present on EVERY campus that APA is represented?

Is the problem with the college? Is it a problem between the students? Have we, as black women, stopped (or even started) banding together? Or maybe is it something simple as nobody wants to join AKA

I want to be an AKA so much I can scream! I've always dreamt of being a soror, standing up for what I believe in, volunteering in my community, being part of a group in which I can find lifelong friends, etc. Now that I'm so close to college and my sorority is represented, I'm kind of devastated.

I had the guts to email UCLA on why they don't have AKA. I've been waiting for a response for about 2 weeks know

I really don't want to be part of a chapter off campus because their is so much you miss out on:
certain scholarships, entrance into higher organizations with the requirement of being in an on campus sorority, the chance to make friends on campus (some people may not even care to join AKA if the chapter is located to far), parties with other Greek organizations, recognition, the list goes on and on and on.......

What are your thoughts? Should I start emailing every college about AKA if I don't see it on their website? Why do you think AKA isn't represented like APA?

PS: Thanks for reading. I would like to hold a long convo on this topic

EbonyQueen - I understand your frustration. I went to college in CA and tried to pursue AKA as well! For me, that was 10 years ago, but things haven't changed much. To start a chapter and have it flourish, you have to have dedicated founders that are willing to do the work of getting recognized by the university - which involves recruiting, event planning, writing bylaws, and a whole lot of other paperwork..all of which has to be done by the students ...all of which takes time and money.

The AKA chapter at the college I attended was so small and disorganized, by the time I found them, I wasn't interested. Mind you I was not at a school that had a lot of Black people or a large presence of Black Greeks.

My best advice to you is to go to a school that has an established chapter. A chapter that doesn't exist now is not likely to be founded in the next few years. If you can't find a suitable school that has an AKA chapter, you'll have to accept that for what it is. I'm sorry . I really do understand. You will still make lifelong friends and have plenty of opportunities to stand up for what you believe in.

Congratulations on this next stage of your life!

Thanks. You are right. Trying to find a college with an established chapter is difficult. I want to go to the University of California-Berkeley sooooo much. They say they have the sorority, but it isn't active, for the members have not kept it alive. They also said that if I come in the next 2 years that AKA may be revived. That would be cool to pick up an organization. i can make plans now if that's the case

any other comments? please..... this topic is very intriguing to me

In some cases....the sorority has been "kicked off the yard" or banned to function as an organization because of misconduct.

please expand on that Ebbz

Honey, this is just one example....

http://articles.cnn.com/2002-09-23/justice/sorority.death_1_sorority-kenitha-saafir-hazing-incident?_s=PM:LAW

I hope things have changed, but no one knows what's happening until someone reports something.

Ebbz wrote:In some cases....the sorority has been "kicked off the yard" or banned to function as an organization because of misconduct.

That happend to the Deltas at the University I attended. And they were suspended for almost 8 years. Like some else said once they're gone it's up to the students and the national org to bring them back. I didn't even get the opportunity attemp to join due to that, so my only option is going through an alumni/graduate chapter.

OMG!!!!

i never knew about that. that's terrible!!!!!

may those poor women's souls rip

it's a sham what hazing can turn into

if i were to be head of a sorority, there would be NO HAZING! ever. period.


what happened to the deltas?

LittleOne gave some good advice. Not every college will have a chapter of BGLO (Black Greek Letter Organization) for many reasons: suspensions, no interest, previous members letting the chapter die out (meaning they decided not to intake more members before graduating). My advice to you is to look on the sorority's national website to see if the particular chapter you are interested in is suspended and for how long. My sorority's website has this information but I don't know about any of the others. Also, make sure to research all the orgs in college before you pick which one you would like to apply for membership for. Hope that helps!

I've never been interested in a sorority for a number of reasons, so I can only assume a great number of other people of all races don't either, so this is coming from someone who doesn't have the interest, compared to the others who did.

If you could start your own, or revive an old one I can't imagine the amount of confidence that would give you or the amount of recognition.

P.S. I agree with the Ohio thing. now that I have a car I wish I went to a different college, but I didn't have a car then and it would have been too difficult. Good luck going to college.

@ JossBella

thank you. you did help

@ Treece

that would be sweet to revive a sorority. oooooo i really want to do it now

ohio sucks i'm freezing my buns off in a heated building....

@ Nik coils AND Treece

YOUR HAIR IS TOO CUTE IN THAT PIC! HOW DID U DO THAT???????

@EbonyQueen: Yeah I'm wishing I could be sitting at the beach right now lol!

My hair in my Avi is of a Twist out I recently did. I only left it in for a couple days and decided to take them out. That's the result!

my hair is in a half wig and flat twisted in the front and underneath for the winter.

@ Treece
me too! my knees are killing me lol
how big were ur twists?

@ Nikcoils
smart idea. i never knew there were half wigs out there lol

@EbonyQueen

Lol about your knees.

My twists were about small to medium. They were medium at the top because I was really tired of twisting by the time I was almost finished lol.

lol it's true. what products did u use?

I used Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, and I had to use ORS carrot Oil because I didn't have my jojoba oil with me.

OH SNAP!

I have Shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie, but my twists never turn out so defined

how long is your hair?

Interesting Ebony... How long do you leave yours in? I sometimes think the longer the twists are left the more defined it will be, but I don't know, I could be wrong!

When stretched the hair in the back is a bit passed SL, and the rest is about Chin Length, obviously shorter in the front. What about yours? I see you BC'd the same month as me!

yeah, but i transitioned only 10 months, so my hair is still in the twa stage. i think the longer the hair you have, the more defined curls will be because longer hair is heavier and it will hang. ya feel me?

I feel ya Ebony. I give you props. I was too chicken to cut my hair too short, but I think I may have liked it. Right now my hair is not behaving the way it was before so I may be living in twists for awhile. It's in the awkward stage where a quick fix ponytail can't happen.

Anyways I got off topic, just wanted to say that, I bet your TWA looks gorgeous!

thank you lol. i just need some ideas on how to wear it/protect it. i was thinking of getting box braids for a while, but i think i might to wear my hair straight for christmas. but i'm also getting my henna for christmas. so much to do lol. i might wait on the braids until next year.

has anyone been to california? is it humid there?

No it isn't humid out here yesterday it was 80 degrees today high 70's

it is a high of 20 in stupid ohio. i cant wait to move!!!!! ♥♥♥♥♥

Baby girl I advise you to do in-depth research before you join, it took me almost a half a year of research before I got my answer... Just becareful that's all I can say right now.. Good luck with everything and stay empowered....

Peace and love