Time Machine: The Church and the Circus Pt. 11

This entry will be a recap of other events ending the Spring 07 semester and others that happened in the Summer of 2007 as well. After discussing the macro-political structure of the society that influences college life, it’s important to look at its micro-political implications. It is also important to note that ANY significant change in the general community will affect any internal smaller community... This is a discussion of “community”

Community (n.)
a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common interests or characteristics and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists

Our “community” is unique (or perceivably so) from the rest our society. This differentiation could be the result of our enrollment status, our geographic location, our unique mixture of diverse socio-economic foundations, or a combination of the three… I like to believe that what adds to this dichotomy of “us” and “them” is the institution itself. For those of you reading that are NOT from UT, but have been a member of a community at a large-scale PWI (FBS League schools usually), this model of differentiation will probably translate to your community.

Generally speaking, people at UT feel that they are better… we have a better education, better networking, better (prospective) futures, better football team, better resources, better everything… we’re better and “What starts here changes the world…” UT has groomed itself to be a reflection of U.S. bourgeois lifestyle (middle class, yet fronting like it’s top notch). This introspective standard has been good for a few reasons. By separating the riff-raff from the progressive talent, the “community” stood a better chance of surviving criticisms and judgments that could eventually lead to university policies NOT aimed at helping this community. However, in the midst of setting the standard, most of the community failed to meet it themselves. This is where our discussion starts… the double standard of black college identity.

As a college student, you are expected to explore, branch out, try new things, and to excel in any endeavor that you embark upon; you are encouraged to use your membership as a part of the larger UT “community” to achieve progress. As a black student, these goals aren’t discouraged, yet rather detoured. The expectations made for black students who are actively (and usually vocally proclaimed) a part of the smaller black “community”, are based on a less individualistic goal… one that hints at a utilitarianistic viewpoint for the in-group… to illustrate the sharp contrast, view the larger community to be based in capitalism and the smaller to be based in a more socialist policy option.

The larger capitalist society promotes the idea of individual pursuit, success, and reward. As a society they allow anybody access to TRY for these rewards, but the resources to actually be successful are held by few (in comparison to how many actually comprise the whole society). The more socialist group, by nature, believes its working purpose is to edify the whole. Where some can’t cut it, others pick up the slack in hopes that it will lead to this smaller “community” being elevated as a group within society. Those that prescribe to this purpose are an active part of the “community”… the stragglers aren’t excommunicated per se, rather they are dichotomized and labeled as deviants in order to reinforce the “common interest” of the community. Now-a-days you’ll hear these deviant individuals referred to as outcasts/“coons”/hoes/[insert label of communal disrepute here]. Yup… But for the sake of discussion I will refer to them as the “sideshow”.

The current problem, after many years have passed, is that the “sideshow” of deviants have permeated their influences throughout the general society, and as a result, their differing viewpoints are now a portion of the mainstream “common interest” of the smaller community. The result is an interesting double standard that places the black student in conflict between choosing their community identity or their individuality.

Some would argue that if (a hypothetical) you are a part of the community, and you have an idea/issue/goal, then it is an idea/issue/goal of the community… this assertion is FALSE. The community has already been defined by its “common interests” shared by the body… sadly, even if your interest isn’t malevolent or contrived, it is still a part of the “sideshow”. This means any notable cause outside of those specifically helping blacks progress on campus or in life, is a “sideshow” and thus isn’t recognized as a part of the community’s concern (i.e. religious concerns, fight for homosexual equality, the need to express your less-than-bourgeois nature in public/coon it up). These “deviants” then try to create their own “communities” with their own “common interests”… at times they succeed, when they don’t, they are relegated to being the “lesser portion” of the holistic group.

Because of the confusion about what’s supposed to matter to each individual within the community, the community itself no longer has a scope on what its purpose or “common interest” is. Thus in order to emulate progress in time of uncertain substance, the magnitude of certain occurrences’ significance is unjustifiably bolstered (i.e. probates and the intake processes related to them, awards ceremonies that celebrate mediocrity, and student leadership tailored to a lack of “common interest”).

Now to the specifics of what this all means…
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In the Spring of 2007, there was the tragedy at Virginia Tech University. Not only did it cause students to be distantly sympathetic with the victims and students of VT, but it also force universities to revisit their rules and policies that promoted campus safety. This was a particularly soft spot for UT considering we’ve had an on-campus shooting as well (part of the reason why you must be authorized to visit the top of the tower).

Once you hear about something this sad/tragic, it SHOULD make you gain some type of perspective about the things that matter (substance)… rather, our community is a subject to its own vices, namely pride (which truly comes before the fall). We were so sure of ourselves and our significance that we never stopped to reevaluate why we were doing the things we were doing or what it all meant.

For example… myself… I received the Black Essence Award for Most Involved Male… but my GPA was yelling that I shouldn’t have been involved at all… regardless, I still looked at it as a success that I presided over an organization that was recognized as the most outstanding come the end of the year. I looked at it as a positive that it gave me networks and elevated my “significance” to a point that I was an unquestionable appointment for PSAC (The President’s Student Advisory Committee – a group of 12 students out of 50,000 who meet with the university President once a month). All of this still matters to me… it’s just sad that other things didn’t matter when they should have.

Conversely, there were things that I did care about that weren’t afforded to me either. In Spring 2007, I would run for NPHC President for the FIRST time. My opponent was a member of Zeta. This in no way is a slight against the individual or her organization, however truth be told their chapter was entering into the fall with ONE active member (the second would be studying abroad). Under SALD rules that would mean they weren’t even an active organization. In my platform I didn’t harp on or mention this because I didn’t want to downtalk my opponent, rather just promote the ideas I had. I was subsequently NOT voted for despite the fact I just mentioned. In the end, the President resigned and the Vice President was moved into her position. It was a wasted election if you ask me. This is where I started to build my contempt for the Greek community… as individuals they could excel… but as a group, they make some dumb ass decisions. I really didn’t want to be considered “Greek” any longer. I didn’t mind being an Alpha… but “Greek”… PLEASE DON’T LUMP ME IN WITH THOSE DUMB MUTHAFUCKAS, I’m not a part of that “community”… if people think I’m harsh, tell me one positive thing that you’ve seen a group of “greeks” do on OUR campus… now tell me how many debacles, fights, drama filled experiences, and broken relationships you’ve seen caused or (mis)handled by “greeks”… if that doesn’t prove that they are some Dumb MFs… then it just proves that people were admitting dumb MFs into their orgs…

I digress…

Zeta wasn’t the only org experiencing dwindling numbers. All of the AKAs on campus graduated, Phi Beta Sigma was graduating its members without intake as well, and because they didn’t have a line Delta would but reduced to a chapter with only ONE “active” prophyte by the Summer of 07 (it’s never a good thing to have no prophytes)…

With the orgs disappearing, peoples' attitudes towards certain campus practices started to change. The vehicle through which most things were made commonplace was now breaking down.

One practice had effectually died by this summer (still used, but not as often)…
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The Church v. Circus

One of the most recognizable types of communities is the church… originally established as a communal building for religious practices, the church has become the hub of American society. It shapes opinions, behaviors, mannerisms, and ideologies. It serves the “common interests” of its membership.

In my freshman year, and well into my sophomore year, it was common practice for organizations to take carpools of students to church on the Sunday of their week. This wasn’t exclusive to greeks, EVERY other org did this as well. The troubling issue here is that those organizations were also ran and monitored by greeks for their potential membership. The most popular church was Greater Mount Zion (GMZ).

Now apart from my own personal opinions against this church, I just can’t support it at all. The sideshow is too prevalent in the church… it’s a circus.

The circus is not holy, the circus does not invoke the spirit, the circus is in fact a perversion of why we should be in the church (For those of you not catching this... it is an extended metaphor)... Now some may argue that any way you can get people in church you should… but that’s not true… If a woman goes around sleeping with men in return for a promise that they’ll attend church, I’m pretty sure they’re not trying to get saved. It’s an inconsistent message… likewise if you’re only going to church because you want to go greek, you should chill that out because 1) I’m pretty sure it’s not a good compromise of morals to gain a network, 2) EVERYBODY notices that you’re sitting next to all of the other IGs…especially since the pictures that were taken after service would be on facebook by Monday, 3) if you are ever motivated to go to church, let it be to fulfill your spirit and please God, not to please the people who plan to whoop your ass…

Furthermore, beyond greek drama, GMZ is the breeding ground for messiness… every week, you can get visual confirmation of stories you heard throughout the week… who broke up and who is talking now (cuz they’re [not] at church together), who got beat up this week (in church with their bruises and scratches), or who is playing the church folk for boo boo the fool (in all the ministries, while everybody’s all up in THEM during the week… yea I went there).

The point is, churches themselves are communities… GMZ was a parallel community to UT, sharing many of its members, and thus its strengths and its weaknesses. In fact, it was built this way… the pastor caters to the student population of his church as if they are the permanent membership… as if they wouldn’t/shouldn’t be gone in 3-6 years. And thus… to sustain this membership, he relied on their networks to promote optimal attendance (inviting [greek] orgs to bring their members/prospects). I’m not sure if he ever knew he was contributing to “community malpractice” by requesting this… probably never will either.

One positive thing GMZ and other churches like it did give to campus was the ability to have a Christian identity in a mainstream society. GMZ and its community helps to sustain the existence of organizations such as Texas Gospel Fellowship (TGF) and IVGC (because their singers were usually GMZ members). It did (and still does) lend itself to be a church home, where the word is spoken and taught. I just personally don't agree with the thematic choices of sermon that the pastor decides to go with (he talks alot about sex... simply because he has a college audience. I don't think its necessary as oft as he speaks of it), but there is a whole congregation that does... but I say this to say that the church can stand alone without the presence of the circus, but it's always there.
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The circus isn't a stationary group... they move around; they go to church and every where else where "everybody" is... and all of the CLOWNS that inhabit the circus migrate place to place, imposing the negative affects of their "funny" business on the observing audiences... whom if they buy into it are turned into CLOWNS as well... Usually the sideshow is compromised of individuals… strangely enough, CLOWNS exhibit a trend known as “group think” (where a group will agree on contentions for the sake of preventing conflict).

It's important to note this group of "group thinkers" 1) do NOT think for themselves in fear that they won't be a part of the norm, 2) let the "group" think for them and thus turn a collection of community assumptions into "social fact", 3) never admit that they have conceded their ability to think as sentient beings... all the while criticizing those who don't agree with the "group".

This fear of being outside of the “sideshow” group is alarming because it appears the “sideshow” now dominates the common interest of the community… the circus is dominating the church…

THE KING'S LAW: Once the sideshow becomes the voice of the community, the common interest is skewed and thus the community (as it was meant to exist) is DEAD.

Some believe that communities are living groups that can change their characteristics… this is contrary to the definition of the concept. If the common interest is changed, the community isn’t changed… rather it is abandoned and a new community is formed. This is the ONLY acceptable explanation for what happens to communities because a simply change shouldn’t alienate members of the community… if it does, that means that the change wasn’t made in the spirit of “common interest” and thus is NOT applicable to the community in question.

In short… your sideshow should never dominate your community, because once it does, you don’t have a community any longer.
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This can applied to the analysis on Greek life I discussed last entry… truth is, there are TWO greek communities right now: the traditional group and the contemporary group. They are simultaneously a part of a larger community, but don’t let that confuse you… they clearly have mutually exclusive common interests that impair their abilities to act as one group.

Well at this point, I’m guessing you’re wondering who the “sideshow” is??? It depends on which side you’re on… however, sometimes it is painfully apparent whose goal is built for the progress of common substance, and whose actions are extensions of deviant significance.

As I exited the Spring of 07, I was transitioned in as the new Parliamentarian of the Big XII Council on Black Student Government. The last meeting of the year, which was held at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, was short a few exec members. Noticeably, we were off to a rough start… Noticeably, the missing exec members were from Oklahoma State University… Noticeably, they were members of Alpha.

Turns out (not that I didn’t already know this… I mean… I’m Tony…) that they had fallen under an investigation back in February when we were at the Big XII Conference. The pending implications threatened academic expulsion and the works (eff’d up transcript, criminal record, thus no financial aid). These dudes obviously had no interest in student leadership at this point, they were trying to save their own necks (and I can’t blame them for that). As a result, they had effectually removed themselves from the common interest of the Big XII community… but what were we supposed to do about our exec board? What about the council??? Everybody else at the meeting knew why the others weren’t there… it seemed to be the entire focus of the meeting… well that and the fact that the OU delegation was semi-absent throughout the day because their BSA was co-sponsoring a stepshow with their NPHC. Where was the “common interest”?

I couldn’t tell you… but the sideshow was directly in front of my face and all around me. This was all in the midst of a coup being staged by the VPs of the various Big XII institutions… the recent history of the conference was reputable for its substance AND significance, however each conference would exceed its budget leaving behind considerable debt for the host institution. The VPs were arguing that the conference needed to be cancelled until it could guarantee it would not run a RED budget. Dr. Lilly sided with the Big XII in the discussions, but made it very clear to me that any business regarding the Big XII must be handled with extreme diligence… its existence was actually in jeopardy. It didn’t help that the next conference was to be held at OSU and we now had no proper representation from them in the council… morale was low, but at least we got a step show that weekend *sarcasm*… FML… in fact - F!@# our collective lives…
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Moving back to the campus, we still had national happening affecting our general way of life. ESPN analysts were debating in grave detail the implications of Michael Vick's arrest and impending conviction for killing dogs. We’re still hearing the echoes of those tirades and rants today.

As a member of PSAC, what I found was bothering our University President was the string of arrests involving members of the UT football team over the summer. He was actually 30 minutes late to a meeting because he was being interviewed by ESPN. The issue wasn’t actually the arrests… it was the implications surrounding them. Every university with an athletic program will attempt to justify its players’ academic intentions and their support for them by tracking academic progress and providing them scholarships/stipends to ease the ills and stresses of college life… Truth is these dudes don’t register for their own classes, (with a few exceptions) they are placed into courses of study that don’t have a high “success” yield after graduation, and their grades are usually inflated in order to evidence their supposed academic effort. I’m not saying this happens for/to every athlete, but at the point where it EVER happens, those athletes are no longer serving the “common interest” of education… they are now the “sideshow” of the university.

However, this “sideshow” of athletes leads the nation in revenue produced off of their talent ($74 Million annually from the football team alone). That’s a lot of do-re-me… this sideshow was definitely running aspects of the community that “student leaders” could never even touch with their breath.

What’s worse is that this “sideshow” was not a subpart of the larger black “community” but of the UT community. This didn’t stop the black community from being perceived differently… the most visible black students that supposedly work as ambassadors to the university community were getting arrested, what message did that send about all blacks at UT? The black non-athletic student population was indeed pissed. But our concerns couldn’t be relayed to the athletes… they didn’t share our common interest, they didn’t care… It didn’t help that Dr. Moore supported them in spite of their public discrepancies… we had 6 Michael Vicks/PacMan Jones/etc. on campus and the “collegiate thugs” were claiming their space on campus for their own community… on the football field.
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On the academic side… The Lock-In Planning committee was getting things going again. No need to rehash everything… just note that this is the first time I knew of alcohol being present at the Lock-in. No “common interest” served there… yup… ya’ll mofos were the sideshow. However, in the planning process, Mrs. Burt (then the director of the MIC) attempted to nip the problem in the bud and cancel as much of the sideshow’s exhibition as possible; she checked GPAs prior to approving the list of upperclassmen attendees (she did this back in February for the Big XII conference as well)… some students felt that she fronted them out and her supervision in this right was unnecessary. For those who fell upon hard times, extenuating circumstance, etc, I agree with you… but if things are all that bad, should you be worried about going to (drinking at) the lock-in right now? Probably not… Plus… somebody of respectable influence had to call-out the unenrolled/”backpackers” for pretending to still be a part of the “community”… sad story, but a prerequisite to being IN the community is being a student (this means that even Alumni are not actually a part of this community).

Some didn’t understand why this committee needs to be beyond disrepute… this committee asks for a lot of money from a lot of different places… around $10,000 total in my day as programs co-chair. This money was supposed to be sponsored by the DDCE (Dr. Vincent’s office), however due to some confusion it wasn’t. [This is the beginnings of what would become a dysfunctional relationship between the student community and his office.] Somehow, Some way, it always gets pulled together… it’s just sad that it’s not more controlled or organized or strict for that matter… things just kind of happen, and people let them… and then… they tell everybody about it.

One of the most memorable happenings of this summer was a very descript email sent out on the Lock-In listserv that detailed meeting minutes from a summer Delta general body meeting. The email disclosed information about whom was active and inactive, details for future events, and the pre-process “busy” work they had planned for prospective new members. Once everybody on the list-serv got the email, they immediately forwarded it to friends and colleagues – it was too late to fix. However, the sender of the email had the list-serv admin shut down the email group in hopes that nobody would be able to retrieve it thereafter (but it was already in they’re inboxes… SMH).

Before the start of the Fall semester she would resign from her presidency of the sorority… all of this was made public… and you guessed it, it’s all a part of the “sideshow”.
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Was it her fault that the email fell into the wrong hands? Yes… was it her fault that her chapter was discussing things that nobody outside of the chapter would find acceptable? Yes and no… but for now she would suffer all of the consequence for the problem. This is just one example of the ass-backwards thinking of our supposedly-educated community. When most people have problems, they resort to finding solutions – a way to fix what is wrong or prevent it from happening again. At UT, we instead look for a scapegoat… Now why is it that a community believes by pointing the finger at who was wrong and telling everybody about it, that the problem will be fixed or prevented?

Let’s say I spill some water… somebody slips and busts their ass. Everybody points the finger at me and now everybody knows it’s my fault… will that stop the next person from spilling water? Or the next clumsy person from busting their ass? It’s not even counter-intuitive… it’s just not intuitive at all. Then again, the CLOWNS of the sideshow/circus are not expected to think for themselves... so that means finding and implementing a solution is up to the community/church right? But what happens when the church feels it cannot exist without the circus?
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As I move into the Fall 07 semester, I’ll explore this imbalance of accountability and how the sideshow (which reveals itself as a separate community) has dominated the common interest of the general population to the point that a solution is no longer even desired.

Time Machine: The Black Greek Problem Pt. 10

Of all of the things Greeks proclaim to be, IGNORANT would be the most fitting... but nobody will own up to that. the truth of the matter is the ignorance is natural... to simply not know something or know better is actually natual, because you can't change what you don't know unless you understand that it is available to be learned.

But the All-Knowing, All-Powerful, and somewhat ever present culture of Greek life is far beyond disrepute... for we all know a few things (even if we act like we don't), for example:

1. The first inter-collegiate black greek organization was originally created for the purpose of helping black students graduate from a PWI during a point in history where society didn't support the idea of blacks being educated.



2. Every BGLO since has been founded on similar principles of strengthening their membership within and allowing that to affect their communities in a positive way.



3. These organizations were created to enhance the undergraduate experience of its members... thus we are expected to submit to the NPHC in order to add substance to our campus unity... (I repeat ". . .")



4. These organizations and the influence they hold are a privilege (earned) and not a right (self-substantiated)... or are they?

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I'll start today's rant/discussion by talking about the inconsistencies of national tradition. Originally, these organizations were meant to employ efforts from qualified applicants who could add to the greater good of the organizations' purpose - to better the organization and the community it resides within. Over the years you would see the BGLOs claim victory either through not-so-visible national initiatives or through the success of their individual members (who technically didn't do it for the organization)... This proves one thing... these orgs love the STATUS... a synonym for significance (as opposed to substance). It is what they tout, it is what they brag about... it is what they perpetuate.

While these organizations were founded by and for undergraduates, in the status quo it seems it is more made for the business of graduate members... the socialites and bourgeois folks that would like for these organizations' selection process to be so discriminant that they appear to be elite(ist) organizations...

Don't get it twisted, if you go hang around the women at Boule and Delta Nat'ls, I guarantee you their general demeanor is going to be vastly different from the individuals you have met at the undergraduate level. In fact, they act as if they'd rather some of the undergraduates NOT be members.... kinda weird especially when the orgs were made for the undergrads but the graduates are attempting to control everything.... and what's more is that half of active graduates were never active as undergraduates and thus don't (and don't try to) understand the plight, purpose, or pursuits of the undergraduate members anymore. Delta's current President is the first undergraduate member to be Pres in a very long time...

The initiatives of the BGLOs isn't so much directly affected by this divide, but it is indirectly affected by the lack of relationship (or desire for one) between the two groups... The truth of the matter is this... GRADUATE CHAPTERS WOULD PREFER TO KILL THE UNDERGRADUATE PORTION OF GREEK LIFE.
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Frankenstein's Monster


Written in 1818, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" explored motifs of responsibility and abandonment while telling the tale of an abhorrant creation. Catch a full summary of the book here.


Dr. Victor Frankenstein literally created a monster... frightened by its appearance, Frankenstein left his monster behind, not claiming any accountability for its creation or existence until the monster started harming others (in fact KILLING them)... Frankenstein eventually vows to kill the monster in order to keep it from harming others and in order to gain retribution for the blood that is actually on Frankenstein's hands.


So odd, that a white female from the UK could compose a fictional novel in 1818 that would forshadow the current phase of BGLO Life (that started in 1990). For more history behind why the transition happened, I'd recommend reading Black Greek 101 by Walter Kimbrough.


Before I discuss this analogy in further detail... let's get something straight... just like on my blog on "haters", it is asinine, ignorant, and not characteristic of educated (college) people to redefine words for their own benefit. Let's define a word that will be used in this blog from here on out, but only in the way it is TRUELY defined.

pledge (v.) - To offer or guarantee by a solemn binding promise; To commit

While "pledging/business" is a concept all on its own, to pledge seriously ONLY means to commit oneself (which is why I DONT pledge allegiance to the American Flag... I'mma follow a flag?... get serious). Back in the day, when people committed themselves to Greek Life, it was to service, tradition, brotherhood, and success... there were very high standards from individuals who were members of BGLOs. They were expected to contribute to the org and to the community outside of the org, submit to VERY STRICTLY CONTROLLED/"set" rituals and traditions that facilitated their submission to and participation in brotherhood/sisterhood... and all the while, they were expected to do great things and GRADUATE.


What happened? I mean really? If it was all GOOD, why did it ever become a BAD thing... simple reason... cuz PEOPLE STARTED DYING. People started realizing the threat and severity of the actions performed while people were attempting to commit themselves to a "greater purpose". At no point in my preliminary research on Greek Life did they metion military service, armageddon, or saving the world (in the sci-fi movie sense)... so YT-FUCK would I be dying for this?... please... please... try to defend people DYING for greek membership on my comments, I swear I'll dedicate a blog just for your dumb ass.


I digress.... pledging became seen as bad.... It went from a traditional practice to strictly against the law (and against the bylaws of BGLO constitutions) over night... now this is where things get iffy. Thousands of members from EACH organization have participated in, supported, and perpetuated the act of "pledging" on their campuses and even in grad chapters (not anymore usually)... then once it went bad, they tried to tell the undergrads to stop "hazing/pledging"... the undergraduate response was to resist the notion of this being okay for fear that if they didn't they would be ridiculed and not respected by the older members of their organizations (regardless of if they told them not to pledge). Thus pleding continued in something that is now called the "underground process"; it gained this name because people used to pledge in public before then.


Throughout this time, people(undergrad and grad) celebrated in the fact that their traditions were being upheld. Simultaneously, graduate chapters continued to conduct intake but they significantly decreased their frequency of "underground processes"... as a result you have a generation of one doctrine active at the undergrad level, and a generation of another doctrine at the top. As a result of this dichotomy of intake methodology, labels were created to distinguish the difference between those who committed themselves traditionally (Made/Real) and those who SOLELY participated in the newly revised national education processes (Paper). I would say that the two are not completely mutually exclusive because MOST people who are made are certified members of their organization (meaning they have things in common with the Paper folks), but the things that the Paper folks do NOT endure is what separates them... further more the phenomon of Ghost/Renegade (those whom were "made" but never had an approved application...) members would affect the playing field as well. For the most part, the "paper" community would have no voice in undergrad for a long time.


And then... more bad shit started happening... more investigations, more hospital visits, and thus more law suits. The institution of pledging was now not only considered dangerous but expensive. Dues rates in BGLOs would steadily increase over time in order to pay for insurance, court fees, and punitive damages to plaintiffs who sued as a result of pledging becoming illegal. The BGLOs have since taken a hardline stance on hazing/pledging:

1. They don't condone or recognize hazing/pledging as related to their membership intake processes.



2. They require all aspiring applicants to sign a waiver stating that they will not participate or allow hazing/pledging activities to occur.



3. If a plaintiff files suit, they will refer to the waiver, and thus send liability to the specific chapter (usually undergrad)



4. If a chapter is pinned, the graduate structure/national organization will turn narc on their brothers/sisters (thus getting them expelled from school, thrown in jail, or removed from the organization) in order to "save" the national organization.

While this makes logical sense... This is so STUPID. How is it that the graduate members (Frankenstein) don't want to own up to the fact that they THOUGHT they were doing something good in the past, and it went wrong... why is it that at the end of the day it was tradition and expected when they did it, but now it is an individual choice that deserves severe consequences? Why is it that the people who started, perpetuated, defended, promoted, lived with a certain tradition are able to abandon it as if they didn't create it??? and then when it becomes a problem, rather than trying to work through something to halt it... they attempt to KILL it... and not even it, the people who are practicing it. How is it that the graduate chapters share NO ownership?....


Frankenstein in this case will do anything to save their own necks, and keep their pockets from thinning... if they say it's because they are cutting off the arm in order to preserve the body, it's a LIE... the body still has members who were hazed, did haze, and do believe in hazing... you would have to kill the organization to eradicate all traces of the malevolent process. If they tell you that they are preserving the true sanctity of brotherhood/sisterhood, it's a LIE... they will throw people to the wolves in order to secure their longevity (I'll show that on future blogs), and the national organization (as an entity) does NOT have control over whom will accept whom as their brother/sister... the divides still do exist, and will continue to until gradute entities take more responsibility for the monster (pledging) that they have created.

This would FIRST start with them fully revamping their intake processes... if they think it's acceptable to change a (let's say) 8 week, 6 day, 1 hr, 35 minute, and 0 second process into 3 days... they're WRONG. You can't become acquainted with individuals, learn information, or familiarize yourself with business at the same level if you reduce the timeframe to 4.7% of the original time invested. This is the dillema between "paper" and "made" individuals... papers attempt to commit themselves to the work of their orgs, and made folks look at them as if they have a 95.3% desparity in commitment. For the graduate population to act as if that is insignificant means that they must not be paying attention to the community dynamics.... but why should we expect them too... they're not even furthering the purpose of their orgs anymore.
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Grad folks effin' up...


Back in 2007, did you that Zeta Phi Beta's National Executive Board expelled a member who discovered embezzlement activities by the then current President? How is it that somebody who is doing their job... being committed to her sisters and stewarding their funds... can be expelled for informing her sisters that one of their own is stealing from them? Furthermore... how did the Executive Board allow this to happen??? maybe because the Exec Board Chair would later become the President... and regardless of her reputation in the world of comedy, She would bring a wide range of criticism to the sorority of "finer womanhood" due to her long history of vulgarity.

And then... this story about a narcissistic "leader" who wanted to imortalize herself with a wax statue, actually thought it would be okay to use $900,000 of AKA's money to get this done.

And again... last year, Fraternity/Sorority Presidents, namely Darryl Matthews of Alpha Phi Alpha, tried to denounce the "n word" on behalf of their entire organizations... how do you do that? What authority allows this kind of audacious promulgation?

I'm guessing Greek Life gives people big nuts to feel that they can do/say whatever they want...

Most recently, a remake of Jay-Z's D.O.A. has been released referring to "paper greeks" has been virally marketed over the internet... the saddest thing about this song is the UNREALISTIC belief that pledging will outlast the national intake processes from this point on... Furthermore, people just do NOT/canNOT seem to learn that if you would like to prolong the traditional ways of intake, the only way that will happen is if NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT (which in turn will lead to them diming on you too). Bringing attention to the fact that you "pledged" only brings attention to the graduate structures, the school administration, the community (who will dime you if they'd rather be paper), as well as the police... yes... they are getting involved now-a-days...


Furthermore, these processes used to add to the substance of their organizations and their members... the need to brag about it or share it with the public is evidence of feelings of low self worth and esteem... they want everybody to know they pledged in order to gain significance, because the truth is their substance doesn't substantiate their importance anymore.... yep i said it... most greeks now a days are trash and dont deserve it.

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So what's the point... in short....


Black UT is a mircrocosm of our society in the U.S... if all this confusion and disarray was happening, it was bound to hit UT as well... some of us had thought we were already seeing it... Fall 07 would prove otherwise. This continual abuse of powers used to take advantage of those who would submit would eventually place some in a place to be scapegoated as the individuals at fault... all the while, nobody is looking for any type of solution.

Time Machine: The Gilded Semester Pt. 9 (Spring 07)

So the Fall of 2006 happened, and that's all some of us attempted to say about it at the time... but we all knew that things were going to be drastically changed in the very near future. As I said, we talk about things as if they aren't big deals... but when some people are having lines that people don't finish from, and others aren't having lines at all (for whatever reason) it actually starts to throw things out of wack... the cycle wasn't in tact any longer and as a result, student leadership and Greek Life would eventually be forced to adapt.

The Spring did however start of with good news for Black UT... This was the semester that the Almetris Duren Residential Hall was opened. Almetris Marsh Duren is a first generation Black UT historical icon. Click the link to get the abbreviated history... in addition to what Mama Duren is remembered by in that article, she also helped students organize and secure resources for some of Black UT's oldest student groups including Alpha, AKA, and Innervisions of Blackness Gospel Choir (now known as Innervisions Gospecl Choir - IVGC). This dorm building is one of only 3 buildings on campus to be named after a Black individual (the other two - the PCL (Perry Castaneda Library) and John Hargis Hall - the Freshmen Admissions building)

It was a good semester to come back proud of who we were. We had just survived a semester of ignorant shit and we actually came out with an opportunity to claim more of the campus and its services... administration and other student entities would be happy to oblige us as long as we didn't continue to bother them with protests and etc.

A committee that would work on getting our X-Lounge officially named "The Malcom X Lounge" was put together... this wasn't a new committee at all, but it would be the last time this committee would need to be formed.

Meanwhile there were two other committees on campus that were planning the design, placement, and unveiling of two new statues on campus - Barbara Jordan and Cesar Chavez. This was very important for a few reasons:

1. The MLK Statue was at this point the ONLY statue on campus of a non-white individual. Oddly enough, it was also the only statue NOT located in the main/south mall area and NOT facing south... you see, the architects that engineered the aesthetics of our campus ensured that important historical figures (i.e. The Tower, Jefferson Davis, George Washington, and several other slave owners from the antebellum era of American History) faced south to show respect to the Confederacy... Even the State Capitol faces south. The newer statues are reflective of how society and the campus itself has changed since the institution's founding.
2. The Cesar Chavez statue, much like the MLK statue, represented a group of people and a mentality of individuals on-campus and far beyond... the placement of this statue would work as a beacon... it would welcome new faces to campus and give them something to relate to, whereas when they walked on campus before it was just confedarate war heroes.
3. Barbara Jordan would be the third non-white statue figure, the second black statue, the first female statue, and the first permanent structure that represented members of the LGBTQ and disabled communities as well... needless to say, there would be some bickering as to which image of this woman would be the most acceptable.

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The first week of school started off differently this semester. Monday, the MLK Parade was cancelled due to inclimate raining and cold temperatures... it escalated to a point that school would be cancelled on Tuesday. I'm sure everybody had their own way of celebrating the College Snow Day, but at the G-Spot we coined a new phrase for our Monday evenings... GRAVITY NIGHT... because "it goes down".

ahhh.... nostalgia


Once things did get going again, BSA decided to change the tone of our meetings to a more social/less political tone in order to build a "family" culture for ourselves before we left for Nebraska in February. This was facilitated by the forcing of CP-time via the "meet and greet"... while some were upset that meetings started at 10 after as opposed to at 7 PM sharp, I think those 10 minutes helped people warm up to each other... for those who want to ride the nostalgia bus, remember these songs during meet and greet? "Wipe Me Down" by Lil' Foxx, "I Done Came Down" by Fat Al, "Morris Brown" by OutKast, "We Fly High" by Jim Jones, "Upgrade You" by Beyonce.... ok I'm done...

Outside of BSA, I don't really remember much in terms of what community organizations did this year. This could be due to a few reasons... A - I'm getting too old to remember this shit, B - there wasn't shit to remember, C - what I do remember outweighs what I don't...

There may be such a vast LACK of detail for the following reason...

King's Law: THE FRESHMEN ARE THE PULSE OF THE CAMPUS.

If the freshmen class is social then the community is social, if they are active then the community is active, if they are lame then the community is lame... In any given year, the efforts of the upperclassmen to maintain the quality of campus life will be comparable to the initiative exhibited by the freshman class.

So with that said, what do I remember?
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Big XII

This particular Big XII was a great one for UT... for the most part we had a bus full of students and we could all get along/be cordial. To be frank, alot of us had one hell of a trip... with a few funny stories.... alot of which wouldn't be shared with the community when we returned. What we did share was an award for the Most Improved BSA in the Big XII Council. This made it the 4th time in 5 years that UT received an award from the Big XII (we were the BEST BSA from 03-05...3 years straight). This award was good because it legitimized the amount of work we were doing and it also punctuated that BSA's year was already considered successful because we had definitely improved on the previous year's efforts.

The Freshman Action Team assisted in our efforts to be recognized by continuing with successful trends from the year before as well as starting some new ones. They had successfully upgraded the Talent Show in the fall and thereafter had begun to hold weekly study hours for interested students. It looked as if the F.A.T. was all of that, but the surface always looks better than what's underneath... What most of the exec board saw was a functional and organized group via the word of the FAT Chair... because I saw what happened the year prior and was once the FAT Chair myself, I understood what was really going on was an imbalance of power within their committee... This would become hurtfully evident later in the spring when the FAT had trouble organizing a budget proposal for another large scale program (that didn't end up happening). But I wasn't too upset about this... at least I had freshmen that were trying to do more. Freshmen weren't particularly seen searching for the mainstream leadership positions throughout the community. Some believed this to be a product of their study habits (which only holds probably 21.385% weight as an actual contention)... I'd attribute it more to their apathy about community issues. Maybe the upperclassmen choked them out - we did so much they felt there wasn't anything left for them to do... or maybe they never had an interest in it... regardless, it would make interest meetings much more interesting...

After our triumphant return from Lincoln, Nebraska, a GREAT opportunity became available... Barack Obama, a relatively-little-known senator from Illinois had recently went on Oprah and she coerced him into running for President.... jokes... but he had started his campaign and had announced a visit to Austin, TX. The primary organizers of his visit were the University Democrats (U-Dems), and although they had grown significantly in the 2 years prior, they didn't have as many black people involved as they would like. In order to get the word out quickly, they cosponsored their efforts with AACC . . . needless to say, people immediately began jumping on the band wagon. AACC and U-Dems drafted every student that they could in order to prepare for the crowd that was to be seated in the Gregory Gymnasium. This plan was axed 2 days into planning as they realized that over 10,000 people wanted to attend this speech... they moved the venue to Auditorium Shores, an outside venue.

The entertainment for the crowd consisted of live speeches from other notables as well as live music.... AND... The Alphas stepped for Obama... by the time we hit the stage there were over 17,000 people in attendance... standing in the drizzling precipitation waiting for their future President to address them... it really was beautiful, anybody who was there that day can attest to how powerful it was to have been even minimally involved... it would be the first time (out of three) that I met Mr. Obama.

Meanwhile, the administration on campus were making political moves as well... in an effort to appease students looking for a more diverse campus (or better yet a campus more reflective of its diversity) the DDCE headed by Dr. Vincent began interviews for possible faculty members who would be able to be assets to the University. One name that then and still now sticks out more than the others was a man from LSU that Dr. Vincent had worked with in the past. His name was Dr. Leonard Moore. He was initially invited to the university to lead a "round-table" discussion amongst a small group of student leaders about diversity and tolerance and how discomfort is vital to the development of both. The message actually wasn't half-bad, if you could get past the unnecessary yelling and his need to employ stereotypes as "the truth" in order to make an aggressive point... I noticed that he had a unique skill for entertaining folks through his banter, and that's how he draws them in... I just wondered what his overall message would be in the end....

It didn't take long to find out... he would be invited back for a second speech, this time it would be to a less exlcusive audience, and more black students in general. I could discuss everything he said, but I'll just discuss where he lost US... this nigga said that our community will never have unity without the involvement of the athletes. We responded to this saying that if we waited on them to fix our community we'd be holding our breaths forever (not to mention that most student leaders don't have faith in this theory). He then replies that if we ever wanted to be considered successful, we would change our meeting times to accomodate our schedule around athletes and their lives.... **crickets**... "Are you high?"

Like for real... crack, PCP, lean, the list goes on... he had to be on something to think that we would respond to some BS like that with a smile. What kind of self-respecting (and thus incredulously proud) student organization would willfully step out as athlete bops, and cater to their "needs"? Better yet, when did people start respecting their opinions (as they related to the community) and who was this???
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Mixed Student Union

This has to have been the most successful yet unsuccessful venture into student organizing from this year. It was a unique concept marketed with an above-average initiative for a mission about as vague and cloudy as Snoop Dogg's piss.

The Mixed Student Union was supposed to be an organization that discussed society in settings that allowed the point-of-view of anybody present, thus allowing a MIXture of cultures (which is how the name was derived). Their publicity efforts were off the chain... not only did they pass out flyers, but everybody at their table knew every vital program detail so that they could actually discuss it as they announced it. Furthermore, the members all had great networks of friends that would allow for maximum support at the programs. Unfortunately, the majority of the group's membership was undeniably fair-skinned and female... it soon became a joke to prod them with that they called themselves the "Mixed Student Union" due to their apparent mulatto membership "requirement". Where it all became a wash was the "Color Complex Forum" (similar to colorism/brown-paper-bag/"Imitation of Life" forums done before). Their was a panel set to discuss their views on colorism as the moderator for the evening hashed through main points for everybody to be in the same framework of discussion... sadly we would find out DURING the program was that the motivation behind what would become an inane series of questions about DATING, came from a random convo between an MSU exec member and an athlete about his dating preferences. Assuming that the majority of attendees would either side with her or the other, she place him on the panel in hopes of having "clash" in the discussion (which is actually a good thing, without disagreement, people don't analyze why they agree).... However what it actually became was a discussion about "why don't the athletes date the dark girls???"....

It kind of sucked for them because they actually seemed to have good intentions, and they definitely had a good following in terms of support. However, as per the community assumption theory, people sadly assumed it was a ploy to build a collective resume for Greek life... I'm not making this up... some came to this conclusion after assessing that the organization had more significance than substance in its beginnings... the reason why I'd agree with this assertion was because they wouldn't be active beyond this semester (and if they were, it wasn't active enough to be perceived)... worse things have happened to UT organizations... worse things have happened to people waiting to be in organizations...
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This had to be one of the funniest semesters in terms of the emotional imbalance of the female population.

As I have mentioned before... Greek Life works in a cycle. There were at least 50 girls waiting in line to be chosen by one of two organizations, and neither would have a line this semester. This hurt alot... why? The community sets up expectations and tries to be proactive at times in order to adjust. These random 50 had been running around campus looking for leadership, friendship, favor, and high GPAs... thus when this Spring came around, they had registered for the easiest classes they could (mostly electives) in order to lighten their academic load while being "busy". This is a common practice for alot of people approaching Greek Life... the saddest thing is that it is never discouraged (by sororities or fraternities). How is it that organizations that are nationally recognized for their commitment to promoting academic excellence employ slackers during intake... sounds like a retrogression of purpose to me... but that's another blog.

I digress once again, but the community expects people to go Greek... and thus disappear... and because of this, people start getting their excuses and "busy"ness ("business") plans together... and against the advice that they hear from day 1 (freshman year) they tell ALLLL of their friends about it. The general feeling of esteem in the female community was especially low when so many that were expecting to enter "business" realized that the market was closed for the semester... so they proceded to do them in the mean time... SMH

For a lot of women, this meant being themselves and getting back to their normal lives... which means (sadly for them... happily for the males) promiscuity flourished... from those in waiting and the Greeks themselves. When people don't have places to be at night and they expect to be busy/"busy", they tend to find other things to do with their time... and since they already planned their studying for the day... it's usually tomfoolery... this ultimately leads to their "moral character" (which is a prerequisite for Greek membership) being placed in question.

This led to a virtually forced ultimatum (not a real one tho) that the women would either a) stop pursuing greek life or b) pursue it extra hard. You saw alot of women drop off the scene in terms of showing interest at this time... the rest of them jumped on the "leadership" scene, thus mitigating the presence of male leadership on campus... the shit got all skewed at this point. To put it bluntly, there really are just TOO MANY positions labeled for "leaders" within our community. People started realizing this and as a result decided it was no longer relevant... especially within organizations that were already established and thus already headed in whichever direction (with or without the new leadership's help). In summation, leadership lost its value not only in the community, but also in regards to resume building within the community because everybody knew that a position didn't necessarily justify an individual's substance.
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Relays rolled around again... yay... and in terms of parties there's not much of a story for this year. Thursday night was shared by the Alphas and the Deltas. The Deltas secured Visions (the new age go-to venue... which was on its way to being played out) and us, The Alphas, secured Vicci for the only undergrad party to ever be thrown at the venue... shit was too playalistic... the place looks like it's owned by a cocaine dealer.

The Deltas party was expected to have their regular crowd, which at this point consisted of alot of the athletes... because of the happenings discussed in past blogs (fights) a lot of the male population decided not to attend their party... a lot of females followed suit... except for those who chose option B of the ultimatum above.

Vicci was just too tight of a venue... plus bruhs from other chapters traveled to support us, it truly was a good example of how college parties should be... no fights, no drama, no problems (except for a super long line that was moving extra slow).

The real problem with this Relays was circumstantial as opposed to consequential... the weather... after Thursday, it was cold as a polar bears toenails. This didn't stop the normal happenings from going as planned... The Kappas had their annual probate and introduced 5 new members (2 of them freshmen...), and the SGRhos present 2 new members. It did however stop a good number of people from hitting downtown on Friday and Saturday like normal. The Kappas' party wasn't affected by this, in fact they had to turn away individuals with pre-sale tickets to their party with a promise that it would be valid at the Saturday party... the same issue happened that night.... like I said, they know how to pack out parties.
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So... freshmen going greek... I'm going to approach this as real as I can, and I won't step on toes, I respect the two individuals that crossed that semester, but it is what is.

King's Law: FRESHMEN SHOULD RARELY/NEVER BE ALLOWED TO GO GREEK

There are a few good reasons for freshmen to go greek... they have longer to learn the way of "the yard" and how to work with it, they are connected with "the pulse of the community" because they are a part of it, they get their most unproductive semester out of the way, and it elevates their potential to do more for their chapter (via leadership, knowledge, etc).... so why is it bad?...

1. Freshmen Neophytes have ONE semester to establish themselves as an individual on campus. If they can't make a significant enough impression as an individual in that timeframe, their identity will be limited to their greek label thereafter.
2. Freshmen Neophytes have ONE semester to establish their GPA. They must be above a 2.5 to enter "business", but because of the stresses that semester can introduce, it is only responsible to consider Freshmen with a 3.5 or above, because a 1.5 or below in the "busy" semester will put them on academic probation quicker than they can recite "Invictus"
3. Freshmen Neophytes have not had an opportunity to work within other student organizations which deprives them of general knowledge which can be vital/helpful once they are members of their new organization (this info can be supplemented by an actual healthy/comprehensive intake process or by the experience of their LB/S's)
4. Freshmen Neophytes aren't vetted nearly long enough to evidence that they are truly qualified/ready for Greek Life.
5. Taking Freshmen Neophytes is counterintuitive to the "social fact" that Greek Life is worth waiting for...
6. Freshmen Neophytes (not all the time) have the potential to live in the clouds because they feel special from that day forth... if they do get like this, you can never fix it, because you can't take their status/"significance" away from them... humility will be scarce if not absent.

This is not to say that EVERY freshman who pledges will end up this way, because in all honesty, most don't (In fact I know quite a few notable Greeks who crossed as freshmen), but it is something people should look out for, especially in our new age... the freshmen are less mature as adults when entering the university, and on top of that they are not as well versed in the "natures" of Greek Life as we were in my day... it's just not a smart move for general risk management... then again, when and where organizations can get quality membership (of substance) nobody will judge them negatively for making that choice in the long-run.

Later on in the semester, the Omegas would probate three new members (thus ending their 6 semester hiatus from intake). This was a huge deal simply because it reinforced the fact that Greek Life wasn't dependent on the existence/survival of just a few organizations, rather it is dependent on the well-being of the collective community (including potential new members...)
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A few more events before I (finally) close this entry

This spring brought about a significant advancement in community culture... Mr. DST from this year would be crowned after a revealing self-expression that served as the individual's declaration of his sexuality. It would be the first time (in my time) that somebody would come out and be supported for it. Up until this point, it was definitely known within the community that there were individuals that identified at homosexual, but the common practice was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"... people tended to act as if they didn't care, when the truth of the matter was that they would rather ignore the pink elephant in the room. After this year, it wouldn't be considered such a taboo subject to recognize that homosexuality existed in our community... but it would test the tolerance and understanding of the community as they adapted to this change... believe it or not, it was a pretty big change.

Towards the end of the semester, the SGRhos and the Kappas decided to cosponsor Friday's events during Sigma Week... the day's events consisted of Kappa Splash (the first year that it was a boat party, as opposed to a pool party) and the First Annual (subsequently, the only) StRHOll-Off... The boat party was planned to be over in time for the party goers to be back in time for the stroll-off. As a result, the Deltas (who were registered to compete) attended the boat party. When the stroll-off was about to start (extremely... even for black people) late, the SGRhos decided to start the show, and thus one sorority act was dropped from the program and the program in general was not executed as planned (this upset the SGRhos) ... I'd say it was a pretty good show... In the finals it was between us, The Alphas, and the men of Phi Beta Sigma... now even though I'm biased and will say to this day we could've won anyway (hehehe), the Sigmas really just wanted to make a show, so their final stroll, while very entertaining, also got them automatically disqualified because of its content (Whipped Cream Pies. . . . .). It was good times tho, until...

The boat partiers returned... there was a public argument that ensued between members of SGRho and Kappa... it involved conflicts between the two orgs and the conditions of their cosponsorship... not my business really so I won't throw that out there, but this was the note Greek Life would enter into Hope Week with... disarry, discontent, disconnect, and disrepute... these types of public altercations, without fail, are always at the least embarassing to black folks.

Additionally... Houston chapters of Kappa decided to take on the annual Greek Olympiad Stepshow for the TX A&M Chapter while they attempted to get re-established.... what ensued was one of the most talked about brawls between Greeks (specifically Nupes v. Ques) ever talked about. Upon hearing the story, it was one of those things that made you say "I wish I was there so I could say that it was a damned shame."
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Hope Week, my favorite week ever, came once again... a few notable things I remember....

On Wednesday, community service day, I went to Texadelphia with the people who came to do service with us and I had an interesting/entertaining conversation with some freshmen from that year (wow, I'm old... ya'll are seniors now...). The discussion basically hinted at the student leadership cycle that I keep referring to. 2 particular freshmen argued with me that what I was saying was full out mularchy... they would both be Greek by the end of 2007... I'm not wrong often (King's Law).

This year's Hope Week included a NEW program that was originally conceived by the BSA-F.A.T. It was called the "F.A.T.est Pool Party Ever". It was originally planned to be a cosponsorship with the Omegas, but because of scheduling conflicts and lack of time to plan it before Hope Week, I proposed to the FAT and BSA exec that we do it during Hope Week, thus allowing a less strict budget and providing more hands to assist in the execution of the program. I think this is one of the best things I've ever done in Alpha, BSA, community... it is a guaranteed actual co-sponsorship that promotes campus unity and fun annually. Some criticized me for stealing this program from the FAT... but I dont think I have... especially since I have always made sure the FAT have been involved in the program since then (at what level... that's disputable but I don't chair it every year either). If anything, in my defense, I'd say I placed the program in the hands of something more consistent... the frat will always have a consistent contingency whereas the FAT will absolutely NOT, and BSA is not guaranteed to have members who worked on the program the previous year either.... at any rate... this was a great cook-out/party... it was fun... and at the end of the night, we all came together.... Sadly, we came together to fight some random Austinites who were talking shit at the pool. Like I always say... fights are embarassing... but as some of my friends would say... that dude needed his ass whooped. UT folks won the fight, but we closed down the cook-out immediately after apparently because the dudes who lost didn't know how to take their ass whoopins like men and threatened to go retrieve their guns from their car. Needless to say, we didn't want anybody getting shot.

The next night was the United Colors Jam... which was at a smaller house than usual... normally we were located in West Campus at the Tejas House, however their new membership wasn't as keen on the amount of negros at their house as the group before. So we played the game and threw it at my frat brother's house. Good Points - it was a safe party, and it went off without an issue (in terms of police, tabc, ambulances, etc...) however it would be the first public display of Greek Life's house of cards beginning to tumble... the scapegoat from the AKA Fall 06 issue decided to attend the party... as did her former linesisters... from what I hear their beef escalated at some point during the party... if it did, I was too drunk to remember... regardless, it was now public knowledge to everybody in the community what had(n't) gone down in the past semester and how everybody felt about it...

It never made since to me why the dirty laundry had to be aired, or why people preferred that it not be held private... I'm guessing because people would rather submit their opinions to the public and let them have control over how to handle it (and at this point, it's still not okay on-campus to be "paper", to act as somebody who is, or to tolerate it)...

It had always seemed illogical to let the entired (un-unified) community have control over that which was created by a select (supposedly unified) few... it's not the community's fault or responsibility to handle it... or was it? Maybe not in the old mentality, but whether the older generation realized it or not, the messiness that allowed such privileged information to fall into the public's hands would change the dynamics of how the community approached and resolved complex issues that were once none-of their business... Once it became their business, it became their issue to deal with... so how would they decide to do it???...

In the upcoming blogs...
finding a solution v. finding a scapegoat

Time Machine: Control or Submission? pt 7 (Fall 06)

So the last post was mainly a composition of campus life issues, this one will be more a compilation of remembered ratchetness. This recap might bring up older history issues as well, but these events also shaped how the community would be perceived by non-student populations on campus in the near future.

Fall 05 was fun for the reasons it was fun, but it also started trends of randomness that would become commonplace... not to a point where things were expected to happen, but when it did happen it didn't surprise anybody. The reason for this is that there was a significant increase in the amount of community sources-of-information (gossipers) as time went on.

Now don't get me wrong, there were always gossipers at UT, but it's at a different level when random people are given secret insight into how Greeks are (not) running their organizations correctly... people shouldn't go that far... and it shouldn't be spread thereafter just because you learned it. I've always had a knack for getting THE scoop (yes THEEEEE scoop) since I stepped on the campus, as I used to say "I keep my ear to the streets, that's where the dirt is...", but the kind of info I was able to get as time passed by, was evidence in itself that we were going downhill.

I digress... events that are commonplace. I'm assuming it started when somebody got shot on campus back in Fall 05... it was that plain and simple, we didn't know who it was, or who did it... wasn't in the news for real, not on CNN at all... but somebody got shot. After that things just tended to fly by our faces when they happened.

All of the fights, all of the altercations, all of the (beginnings of) Facebook messiness just accumulated to the point that nobody ever stopped to think how odd it was that the most vulnerable/questionable characteristics of our community were being observed by all. There was no longer a question of our "community"s validity in terms of unity... There was none.

By the time the CAAAS sponsored Mac Computers in the X-Lounge were stolen in Summer 06, nobody could defend any of it... nor did we attempt to... we just let it happen

Many felt more should be done about building the concern for one another in the community... Many also felt that each persons issues and how they dealt with them in college are a personal problem that as a community we don't need to address... Both types of people could be found in leadership positions.

There was one particularly funny incident in BSA where a co-sponsorship was agreed upon without proper planning. As Pres, I was whole-heartily against the program, to the point that I cussed out my exec board for pushing it through without knowing what we'd be doing.... This wasn't a mark against the cosponsoring org, it was an internal mistake.

At any rate, a plan was drawn up for "MisKonceptions of the Black Community", and in the plan was a improvisational staging of a community disaster.... Somebody was supposed to run in the room and tell everybody that Chad Stanton had been hit by a car... As a result people would've immediately felt a blast of concern and began asking questions... And then Chad would pop up. I don't know why this ever sounded like a good idea, apparently somebody else thought the same thing... Lol... The program started and went along its agenda w/o Chad's accident being announced... He was sitting in a separate room for about 30 minutes before anybody told him we decided not to "kill him".... So he just looked ultra late to the program. In the end, it was a very decent program.... the program discussed aspects of student (academic), social, spiritual, and adult life as college students in separate groups and the conclusions were discussed by the entire room in the end. It was a good dialogue, but as most "talking" isn't fully effective, the campus wouldn't be any different after the program.

Meanwhile back at home (apt. 924 aka the "G-Spot"... I didn't come up with that name), life was good. I lived with 3 people who I can say have had a profound impact on my college life, and life in general. This apt has more memories than I can share... But what was most remarkable was the network of people who ended up stopping through and taking advantage of out open-door policy. I keep in touch with all of those people to this day, and they are the primary followers and motivation behind my blog.

Back on campus, the significance of some orgs was in question... Some that should never be questioned... AACC had recently lost control of Black Essence Week, which was the the unifying black history event for the community in February. We haven't done a "Project Makeover: Church Edition" in a minute. I always thought it was trash that the program was essentially usurped from AACC by CAAAS... especially when most faculty under their umbrella does not like the title "Black Essence" because as educators of the concept of the Black Diaspora, they don't beleive in "Black Essentialism"... that may be a little beyond the point, however I always enjoy things more when they are student ran and controlled.

Another transition in AACC was the introduction of their new advisor. The former advisor, Crystal King, started working more exclusively with the SEC (Student Events Center), the organization that houses the 10 cultural committees including AACC. The new Advisor, Xavier, came in fresh from a position at Baylor where he worked as an advisor. Honestly, I never knew what direction he wanted to help AACC go towards. The issue with AACC, as it was told to me by others, became a switch of focus. The purpose of AACC is to provide programming to the campus that reflects Black culture. Because they are given a fairly large budget, AACC can throw programs that other Black orgs cannot (i.e. concerts, comedy shows, speakers, Soul Nights, etc.). Students within the committee felt the money was best spent on the community alone as opposed to campus wide programming because if the money were to be kept in house it'd be more useful. This wasn't just a trend this year, it had been one since I was a freshman. The decreasing of AACC's budget when they brought Louis Farrakhan was the beginning... the lack of attendance from Black students at events there after gave the SEC uppers more reason to keep cutting the AACC budget to where they could only do large scale programs if they were co-sponsored. IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE STUDENTS FAULT WHEN SHIT AINT RIGHT... But it did eventually get to a point where all of AACC's programming was solely meant for the Black community only, which is not a function of the SEC.

NSBE on the other had has always moved towards its purpose... most would attribute this to the fact that they fall underneath a national governing body and everybody that is active pays dues annually (to their chapter and to the national organization). Furthermore, they actually help get people jobs through their networking, and it never hurt that they fed all of their members at the meetings. Too bad there weren't any other national organizations on campus that.... wait.... nevermind.

Beyond unapproved business moving forward, the BSA exec board also had its further issues... like some people really had real issues. The kind of issues that a doctor needed to be consulted about, and that I nor any other student can fix. Health (specifically mental health... via depression) is something that is vastly ignored in the Black community. This isn't a result of our culture as students, this has been a phenomenon for a long time. It's just amplified in this microcosm of a real community that we call Black UT... for us, it got to a point that we couldn't ignore it because it was affecting our internal business. The individual in question would eventually resign from the exec board. Now here's where a dilemma is approached. How much is the community supposed to care? and how much is too much? where does personal responsibility factor into the equation? I think ultimately, everybody is responsible for themselves, but it's still the community's job to foster the growth, health, and goals of those that are within it.... why do I feel that way? because the "community" has no problem TAKING from those individuals, but it has a problem genuinely GIVING back...
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Black and White happened again... but this would be the last time it would (sad...). This time the event was held at the Rec Sports Center, whereas in the past it was in the San Jacinto Multipurpose Room. We were really partial to using those dorm facilities because they were new to campus my freshman year, and we wanted to make sure we had access to the newer parts of campus. This year, the entire budget was sponsored by Dr. Vincent in the VP's Office for Diversity and Community Engagement (still the current name). This is back when people on campus didn't have ill feelings about his policies or his policy changes. (HISTORY: B&W came about when SAAB was invited to a semi-formal by the Black Men/Women United organizations at Texas State Univ in San Marcos. We adapted B&W to be something like what they had shown us... a good time)

As mentioned in the last blog, there wasn't an AKA line this semester. Long story short... there was one, and it didn't finish. The popular tale would be that one individual decided that the "busy" work wasn't for her, "dropped" and reported it, thus deciding that it wasn't for anybody else either. This individual was well decorated in terms of her resume (I imagine her resume upon graduation was actually quite beasty). What she would ultimately be remembered for however would be her "selfish" decision that affected not only her, not only her former linesisters and big sisters... but the entire campus as a result of what impact it would have on Greek Life.

In the midst of all the drama, one thing that we as students always knew how to do well was party. At Apt. 924, we had 2 house parties, both named after the monikers I gave to the beverages I created. The first was called "Messed up or F!@#ed up"... cuz you were drinking one or the other... but there really was no difference in potency between them... the most memorable party was called...
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Just Because or For a Reason

This was a fun/funny/tragic/"fill in the blank" ass party. It started as a small convo in Jester with somebody... who told somebody... and by the time I came back to Jester from class, everybody was asking about the party that was supposed to go down... so it had to happen.

I got help from some friends to help put it together, we had two gatorade containers full of punch, and half a keg that magically found its way to the apartment patio before the night got started... and I made a mix of songs on my iPod and placed my computer speakers in the living room. It ended up being what i believe to be the best party of the semester (i'm biased). It's never a problem when people can come together, have fun, have a few drinks and depart happy and safe... (i repeat ". . .") That didn't happen here.

A small list of issues with this party:

1. It didn't stay in one place, my downstairs neighbors definitely had to open their doors to welcome the overflow of ratchetness from the party.
2. TJ's toilet somehow flooded over... who was in his room?
3. Somebody vomited chicken pieces on my floor, they didn't even look chewed up, I could still tell it was chicken... disgusting.
4. Somebody got drunk too fast and crashed in my bed... I'd later find vomit in that place too. I'm glad I had a mattress cover.
   
5. Everybody took advantage of my private stash of alcohol to take shots... we were cleaned out by the end of the night.
6. Somebody threw up in Falil's room (he doesn't play that shit... and a bit of culture for those who dont know much about Islam. The place where Muslims pray is a sacred/good place, and Falil's room had essentially been violated... until it was cleaned properly, he wouldn't feel right praying in there... I'm just saying...don't say we didn't sacrifice to make people happy).
7. Somebody threw up behind the couch and hid it.... and didn't tell anybody
8. 4 people passed out like it was an MJ concert and had to be carried downstairs
9. A few people went outside to fight (not a real fight), and ended up mud wrestling.
10. Some people started getting uber-drunken-emotional...
11. One of them was taken to my bathroom to shed off some steam... she subsequently fucked up everything in my bathroom... and I actually had a nice bathroom set... shit was broken and flung all over the place in there.... I told her to get out of there, i had no sympathy.
12. She then proceeded to try and jump off of the (2nd floor)balcony... She apparently didn't want to live anymore, but she didn't realize the fall wouldn't kill her. There wasn't enough height and on top of that, there were bushes to provide a soft landing for her had she jumped...somebody stopped her, and then she passed out too and was carried out.
13. Some people were too incapacitated to leave, so our living room became a free hotel.
14. Both Falil and I had to find alternate places to sleep that night...
    

All in all, it was a great party, but our apartment was officially retired from throwing them any longer. Luckily, no cops came, nobody was hurt, and we had some great friends who helped clean up afterwards... Thank you friends. We realized although we can always feel we were in control of what we were doing, we really aren't...
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Control v. Submission

I'll close this entry by discussing two concepts. I won't bother defining them, I'll just discuss them.

In our community, we are always striving for control over something, whether it's the quality of our unity or it's "the yard". At the end of the day, I think that we never have had control... even those who seemed to have the most influence and actually could change the outcome or result of a situation, were actually not in control.

Why? because of what we submit to. Some actually submit themselves to organizations... and some submit themselves to people in those organizations thinking that they are in control. The truth of the matter is that most people on our campus are submitting themselves to non-tangible entities (i.e. tradition, unity, passion)... how is it that people sacrifice their control to something that cannot be controlled because it is never truly defined? Do we no longer have goals? purposes? benchmarks? or do we fly by the seat of our pants and as long as we can smile about something we charge the rest to the game (submitting to circumstance).

Alcohol is a good way to express this relationship... somebody is interested in drinking, they've never done it before, but they've seen others do it, or have heard that it does positive things to you. However, this person has also seen people who cannot hold their liquor and thus wants to control their drinking. But them being a novice leads to overdrinking and thus their submission to their condition. Where did they lose control???? The truth is they lost control when they considered doing it in the first place.

Our community doesn't know where it is going simply because we cannot define what we are submitting to any longer. We really are just going through the motions... carrying on traditions, re-doing programs, submitting to "busy" work assuming that this traditions etc. were ever fully controlled. But if we are college aged adults, and we're having issues with a community identity crisis, what leaves us to believe that this shit was ever perfect??? What leads us to believe that we were ever in control and that we're continuing the control of our traditions, when in fact we could just be perpetuating our submission to them...There is NOTHING new under the sun. It has all been done, and that's not the problem...

The problem is that nobody can LOGICALLY/RATIONALLY defend why we do any of it anymore.

And I'll pick up from there... the irrationality of disunity.