This week, as part of our “On The Margins at DU” column that investigates the successes and failures of inclusive excellence at DU, The Clarion spoke with third-year Ananda Dimock. She serves as the president of Kappa Phi Lambda, a multicultural sorority on campus that seeks to “provide a culturally sound and educationally inspiring grounding for Asian-American women.”

To get involved with Kappa Phi Lambda, follow them on Instagram @denverkappas. Students wanting to join the sorority can attend their recruitment events through March and April. On March 30, Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) will host “Meet the Greeks” to promote their respective organizations and show what MGC can provide to the community and to an individual. It will be in Craig Hall at 6 p.m. 

Kiana: For those who don’t know, what is Kappa Phi Lambda? How did this group come about?

Ananda: We’re an Asian-interest sorority, the first and only one in Denver. When we chartered here, it was pretty groundbreaking. Our founders wanted us to have more representation here at DU. We do have ASA, SASA, and the other alliances—but in a sorority, it’s a completely different experience. We want to create a bond between our sisters across ethnicities and identities, and we’re trying to push Asian identities that haven’t been represented before. We have an active house of 16, but there are around 57 members total who have come and gone as they graduated. 

Kiana: In general, how inclusive of an environment do you believe DU is for marginalized communities? 

Ananda: When I was a freshman, I went to a multicultural dinner and that was the only space where I felt included. I’m a business major, so most of my classes are majority-white. I would walk into a room and realize I was one of the only people of color there. The multicultural dinner was a needle in the haystack, and it led me to learn about the multicultural fraternities and sororities present on campus. Because for a lot of the different affinity organizations on campus, you don’t see any of their advertisements. They’re trying to get out there, but there isn’t a whole lot of institutional support. 

Kiana: How do you feel the Asian community has been specifically impacted by this? 

Ananda: When people think of Asian culture, they think of the model minority stereotype. Asians aren’t as celebrated as Latinx or black culture on campus because we’re seen as already ‘making it.’ But we really haven’t. People think that because we have higher college graduation rates and things like that, but there’s still a large Asian community being marginalized. Southeast Asians, for example, have the highest high school drop-out rates. We struggle, too. The model minority is a myth. 

Kiana: In what ways has DU succeeded in taking the community into consideration in the past? 

Ananda: We never had an MGC advisor before. This year, we have Alana Thompson. She’s one of the grad students for higher education, and she’s amazing. She pushes us to be more structured and organized and promote our events. It also helps to have someone from MGC as the Associate Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL). 

Kiana: In what ways has DU failed to take this community into consideration? 

Ananda: From an MGC standpoint, I was disappointed by FSL when @wecanDUbetter came out with their demands. @wecanDUbetter asked for the FSL community to be held accountable for its members. MGC doesn’t have the same stigma, but we were looped into that—which I understand. But whenever we talked about it as an FSL community, no one asked for MGC’s opinion or what MGC wanted to do. We had a meeting with all of the FSL presidents, and it was a couple of people of color surrounded by a bunch of white people. It was like any other space in DU, and it was hard to find our voice there. They never gave MGC the platform to speak. 

Kiana: If someone had asked for your input, what would you have wanted to say? 

Ananda: I don’t know what other fraternities and sororities do for their recruitment process since we have our own and a lot of the traditions are confidential. But I wanted to propose a workshop on sexual assault—how to prevent it, how to recognize it, and how to support survivors—that could be done during recruitment. 

Kiana: Looking at the issue more broadly, in what ways has DU failed the Asian community? 

Ananda: In the student body, people think white people and Asians are equal even though none of us are. All of us exist on different parts of the ladder. A lot of students will ask us: “Why do we need an Asian sorority?” 

In the early 1800s and 1900s, Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Association (PHA) were formed. Minority groups wanted to join them, but they weren’t allowed to as people of color. The Divine Nine was created—historically black fraternities and sororities—so people of color could feel accepted in their communities. We created our own spaces, so we could experience brotherhood and sisterhood. 

We used to have a Divine Nine presence on campus. But they haven’t been able to get themselves out there because there’s only so much you can do with an org when you don’t have support from administration. So at the moment, we don’t have any Divine Nine fraternities or sororities. It’s sad because they were really what paved the way for MGC to be here. Without them, we wouldn’t have had that platform to create our own ethnically-based Greek life. They were the catalyst for that movement. 

Kiana: What do you hope to see in DU’s future of inclusive excellence? 

Ananda: I’d like to see more advertisements for the multicultural groups on campus. DU takes advantage of students of color. They take photos of them, and they put it on their brochure or website. They advertise us, but not our events. On their website, you have to really investigate to find out about multicultural fraternities and sororities and what they are. 

For example, Lunar New Year is really big in Asian culture. So many people celebrate that, but DU didn’t promote our events like they would have if we were in school during American New Year. Out-of-state or international students who aren’t in ASA or MGC might not know they can celebrate a central part of their culture with people from those communities. 

We do a lot of great work, but it doesn’t get seen because we don’t have a lot of funding as a smaller group on campus. FSL has so much funding to do their FSL Week, but there isn’t money set aside or promotions put out by DU to help MGC. We try, but it doesn’t get out there. 

Kiana: How would you characterize your personal experience with multicultural Greek life? Why should others join? 

Ananda: It’s one of those experiences you can’t put into words until you experience it. It’s like having a family. You meet people you never would have met had you never joined that group. It’s a stronger bond. I’ve been in my sorority my entire college career, and I don’t know where I would have been without my sisters. They’ve shaped me to be the person I am today. I couldn’t imagine my life without them. My sisterhood changed me for the better. 

Through this column, we hope to shed light on the range of identities and experiences that exist on campus, create a space where their voices can be heard and highlight their contentious relationship with DU. We hope to represent them with as much journalistic integrity as possible, but we are aware that there are stories we will fail to communicate with the same voice. We aspire to do better than student organizations and institutions, including The Clarion, have done in the past at treating these topics with the thought and consideration they deserve. 

If there is feedback you would like to give or issues you would like to see covered in this column, please reach out to duclarioneditorialteam@gmail.com.