At this moment, The University of Alabama stands at a tipping point. On the one hand, we have accomplished tremendous things in the past two weeks – UA Stands, the implementation of continuous bidding and the first real signs that the greek system may be able, and willing, to integrate. On the other hand, the struggle against segregation is by no means finished, and celebration of our existing gains threatens to blind us to the incompleteness of the processes.
In short, there is still work to do. And as our collective focus shifts away from the issue of discrimination, we run the risk that our existing efforts will be undone. This is not the first time greek segregation has come under scrutiny, nor the first time a white sorority has issued a bid to a nonwhite student. If we forget about the issue as we have before, our efforts over the last two weeks may unravel as they have so many times before.
The fact of the matter is that although there are now several black students integrated into white greek organizations, the structures that enabled segregation for decades have not changed.
For decades, greek leaders and alumni actively worked to exclude nonwhites from their organizations; today, all of those individuals have the exact same positions and influence that they always have. And for decades, administrators tacitly condoned racist recruitment policies because they, the administrators, thought that challenging the greek system was too high a price to pay for equality; today, those administrators are exactly as beholden to the greeks as they always were.
What we must remember is this: Next fall, sororities and fraternities will once again choose whether or not to offer membership to nonwhite recruits. But next fall, the eyes of the national news media will not be there to compel them toward tolerance.
Therefore it falls to us ordinary students and ordinary greeks to apply the pressure that will lead to lasting reform, not just temporary appeasements. It is our responsibility to hold the UA administration and greek leaders accountable for their actions.
We should begin, in my opinion, by demanding an official apology from the University for allowing segregation to exist on campus. This may not seem like a significant step, but statements from UA President Judy Bonner and SGA President Jimmy Taylor have both placed emphasis on “perceived” barriers. This downplays both the seriousness and the intentionality of segregation on this campus, and it will reduce accountability of those in power in years to come.
We should also press greek institutions to hold their alumni accountable for their transgressions and, if possible, bar alumni from recruitment decisions in the future. Greeks and non-greeks have pointed fingers at alumni for segregation; at this point, accountability must be established if greek progressives want to be taken seriously.
I don’t want anyone to think that we haven’t accomplished great things this month. But we have to remember that when we fight segregation, we fight an enduring institution. Discrimination has become a tradition, and such things are resilient.
However, I still believe this student body has both the will and the power to make a change.
Nathan James is a junior majoring in public relations. His column runs weekly on Thursdays.
