Recently there have been several articles in the Clarion about DU Greek Life. Though I appreciate the Clarion reporting on Greek Life, I feel there is a focus in each article of what is going on for Panhellenic (PHC) and Interfraternal Greeks (IFC) that really excludes the Multicultural Greeks (MGC) on this campus.
Though we are all united under Greek Life, there are some key differences between our organizations that have not been accurately portrayed. One example of this is that in “Get in to the Greek,” the article described the rush process but failed to mention that though MGCs would give presentations during the IFC/PHC recruitment week. There is an entirely different recruitment process for Multicultural Greeks: These organizations do not bid on individuals at all and continue recruitment long after Rush Week is over.
While the results of Bid Day were splashed across the front page the following week, there was never an article about the various probates or coming out shows which is our way of showing off new members – or moreover, any article whatsoever about our organization or any other multicultural organization.
There have been many events that have showcased multicultural organizations that are never mentioned, such as Sigma Lambda Beta’s Stallion Stroll Off, or Sigma Lambda Gamma’s Stomp to Shock and One Love events.
For situations like this, I know that it may be difficult for the Clarion to know exactly what is going on with the Multicultural Greeks on campus.
Another key example I can give of feeling misrepresented in the Clarion is in the article “Greek social events halted.” The first line states, “All fraternities and sororities were issued a ban against all ‘social activities’ last Wednesday Sept. 26 by the Division of Student Life due to an unusual increase in the number of students sent to detox throughout last week.”
The problem with that statement is the ban only affected PHC and IFC Greeks while the Multicultural Greek Council has not been responsible for any students sent to detox in our history here at the DU. As a sister of Pi Lambda Chi, I was frustrated to see that our image was being tainted in the DU Clarion by not specifying this and simply claiming that the ban was issued against all Greeks.
I recognize that we are a smaller population of the Greeks here on campus, and I recognize the possibility that the Clarion was not aware of our existence, but we should not be overlooked when publishing Greek Life-related articles – both for the accuracy of the content and also because it does affect our image unfairly. DU’s Multicultural Greek system has fought hard since 2006 to earn its place here within the DU community.
