For the second year in a row, The University of Alabama’s Greek system made national news for something a little less than positive. Although it is not as widespread as last year’s incident, the negative publicity from the “Snapchat incident” has only added fuel to the flame.
I am not here to comment on the character of the girl who posted it or on the sorority. I don’t know her, and her actions are obviously not a reflection on her sisters. The expressed hatred in the Snapchat may or may not reflect how she really thinks, but regardless, the effect of social media is not something you can control and online actions are irreversible. The phrase “think before you speak,” or amended for the 21st century, “think before you post,” is becoming more and more important as social media use increases.
The event was embarrassing and it only adds to the stigma that we all have to deal with while attending or working at the University; people still wonder if we truly have moved on from our tumultuous position of the 1950’s and 60’s. However, the event was a good thing, because it will prompt conversation about race, which is a conversation that we must have.
Look at last year’s incident. It was embarrassing, but it was necessary and it changed the University in a positive way. More than 20 black girls accepted bids to join sisterhoods that they would not be a part of without last year’s dialogue. Yes, celebrating the fact that less than one percent of bids were offered to black girls is pathetic, but it is certainly better than we have had in the past. Last year, the administration took a while to address the issue. This year, action was immediately taken and many of us learned about the situation from the administration themselves. That is progress.
Similarly, albeit at a much larger scale, the 1963 “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” is an embarrassing part of our state and school history, but it was an extremely important part of the civil rights movement. An outstanding opinion column in the August 28th edition of The Crimson White effectively illustrates that we are nowhere near finished with the conversation about racism at this university, even over 50 years later.
Although we would all like to be respected nationally, these embarrassing incidents that seem negative now may have a positive effect in the long term, and even the short term. Change only happens when people want it to, and events like this are going to make people want to change the University for the better.
Kyle Simpson is a sophomore studying biology. His column runs biweekly on Wednesday.
