genuine question
by: lolare there any non-white girls in kappa/pi phi? i'm not hating on them but there are literally no non-white girls on their instas lmao. does anyone know how many there are? do they even exist :')
#1 by: pip
Not that many but the overall greek system minority representation stats are s l o w l y improving. Sad situation overall though and certainly not reflective of our campus. But these are private organizations that have actually changed very little in over 100 years. If you are a minority I can only suggest going through the process and meet people and see if there is a house that meets your needs.
Comment#2 by: hm
definitely a handful in both houses. HOWEVER, there is really only a handful of minorities in HALF of the sororities at cal - not just in pi phi / kappa. history shows that girls tend to pick houses where most of the girls are the same race as themselves. what results is little diversity in most houses and extreme diversity in a few others. this isn't a kappa / pi phi issue - it's just a pattern
by: Actually Aug 6, 2017 9:32:35 PM
well, it seems to me like you have a vendetta against pi phi / kappa for some reason when, in fact, alpha phi, adpi, AND chi o ALL show little to no diversity on their social media pages.  also, don't take instagram too seriously! not sure why you are using a social media platform to accuse houses of discriminating or using it to address a societal issue. social media is ALWAYS deceiving - everyone knows that social media only shows one side to the story and doesn't always tell the full story, be it a sorority instagram, a frat instagram or someone's personal instagram!
in terms of kappa/pi phi being ranked "higher" and your frustration with that: people will lie and say that Greek Life doesn't discriminate, but it does in very subtle ways. If you're ANY kind of POC, then your race will be a handicap. They'll never explicitly say it, but sororities and prefer wealthy, good looking white girls. The whole system is about trying to get the "best" people to improve your rankings. Houses are looking for members that will improve the houses visibility and popularity on campus. Unfortunately, in the eyes of many, white people are the standard of beauty and eliteness in society.  The truth is that having more good looking, wealthy, sociable, (and white) members will increase the house's popularity.
this is not a Cal Kappa / Pi Phi issue, so don’t pin it on them. this is a societal issue and a greek issue in chapters across the nation and in more than half of the chapters at cal! don’t solely call out kappa and pi phi if you are going to make that accusation
- 54
- 36
by: lollAug 6, 2017 10:19:39 PM
lol i dont have anything against kappa/pi phi! i know great people in both of them and i'm not trying to slander them in any way (i'm rushing as a first year and i actually really like both of these sororities). i'm also not a minority so bringing this up wasn't an attempt at all to insult them! sorry if it seemed that way lol. i agree that none of the insta feeds reflect diversity and social media shouldn't be taken seriously--but i've noticed at least one minority in the feeds except kappa/pi phi.
the op was supposed to be a lighthearted post that brought this fact up lmaooo my bad
my last comment was just a response to the previous comment! the "at cal" part was only to indicate that kappa and pi phi are considered top here but not necessarily everywhere else. obviously this is a systemic issue that exists everywhere and not just in the smol microcosm of berkeley
- 32
- 48
#3 by: @loll
I'm sorry but bringing up the racial makeup of two SPECIFIC sororities at cal is absolutely NOT a "lighthearted" discussion. These accusations are anything but lighthearted and if that was your intention you completely missed the mark.
Secondly, take into consideration the fact that pi Phi and kappa are not considered "top" just because of the racial makeup of their houses. This is shallow thinking on YOUR part. There are many factors into why they are perceived as "top" including social presence, personalities of girls, involvement in the Greek community etc. Shame on you for assuming that the racial makeup of the houses was the sole reason for their rankings as "top" houses. As you'll soon come to find, we do not take discrimination or accusations of discrimination lightly at cal.
by: WOWWAug 6, 2017 11:13:43 PM
by: wowAug 6, 2017 11:27:42 PM
by: RTAug 6, 2017 11:34:09 PM
by: UmAug 6, 2017 11:36:23 PM
Agree, but the op has a point about the lack of diversity among the top sororities vs the more diverse lower ranked ones. No one can deny that. Multiple other posts on Greek Rank have noticed how some sororities are ranked are lower than others for no other apparent reason than just being more diverse.
- 26
- 1
by: YaAug 6, 2017 11:40:36 PM
Right, there definitely is a lack of diversity in at least HALF of the sororities at cal. What this person did wrong and what was out of line, was calling out two specific sororities when the bigger picture should be observed. This is not an issue in two houses, it is an issue in MANY houses. What the op said was out of line and unfair picking on two specific houses. We are ultimately not going to get anywhere if the BIGGER PICTURE is ignored and people accuse TWO out of TWELVE houses who are ALL guilty of this.
- 26
- 1
by: LolAug 6, 2017 11:35:59 PM
by: wellAug 6, 2017 11:40:01 PM
@huh, though i think the op did have a "valid question" regarding diversity in greek life, it should not have been targeted at two sororities in particular and should not have been based solely off social media. an important discussion to have for sure, but poorly executed
- 22
- 0
by: Yes Aug 6, 2017 11:41:57 PM
by: @LolAug 6, 2017 11:46:01 PM
lol i (the op) didn't post this comment but i do appreciate the support lmao. i do want to apologize though--i took the issue way out of line and made it seem like i was targeting two sororities and slandering their reputation. this was not my intention and i'm really sorry for doing so.
however, i stand strong for my other comments--the lack of diversity in sororities as a whole is an issue and to be honest i'm surprised at how many people are speaking negatively on my post lmao
again, i'm sorry for just targeting kappa/pi phi. this was not my intent
- 14
- 0
#5 by: up
Kudos to the OP for putting a finger on yet another one of the elephant in the room topics here at Cal. Sorry people jumped on you (quite disgraceful and rude btw) but I applaud your courage for at least asking the question which is truly more than most members of our system have done. The most I can say is that we are 'light' on diversity (you can take this comment any way you would like!). But, sadly this is not just a Cal issue but its a nationwide greek issue. If you want to have a bit of a giggle on this topic (you have to laugh or you would cry) then please head over to the panhel site and read the 'statement' that addresses this topic. TO their credit I am sure some in panhel worked quite hard to craft their 'statement' and I am sure their intentions were good (giving them benefit of the doubt) but their exercise in creative writing fell far short of what was needed given the hard feelings from last year. I actually read the entire statement twice and the only time I read it the second time was to see if anything serious was being done or said. Sadly, no to either.
#6 by: pit
To PNMs: Greek life does not exist within the confines of a democracy in terms of its structure/rules/regulations etc. If you understand this issue upfront it will save you much heartache and aggravation. These organizations are private organizations with their own rules and regulations and governance. Please DO NOT expect these organizations to be anything other than what they are and you will be good. There are so many positives to the greek experience but I don't think most people come into the experience with much understanding of how things work. This lack of understanding can lead to some very basic issues. When you join an organization you are joining a NATIONAL organization so what you do and how you behave reflects on the larger group. While there is a certain degree of local autonomy in terms of how things run the reality is that the larger organization hovers in the background always. This is not in any way meant to be critical of the role of the national organizations as in many respects they are quite helpful and offer great training etc. I just wanted to set a more realistic expectation for those people looking for rapid change on anything to realize what they are dealing with in terms of organizational structure.
Post Reply
Before you type: Remember, do not post names, initials, or any derogatory content.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Didn't find your school?Request for your school to be featured on GreekRank.
by: yaAug 6, 2017 8:40:53 PM
i agree that it's more of a systemic occurence rather than an isolation within kappa/pi phi! but it's shocking when a sorority's social media reflects a 100% european/white girl attendance when there is (at least some) diversity. like i said in my initial post, i've been looking at the insta feeds for all of the sororities--most lacking in diversity tbh, but kappa and pi phi literally have no non-white looking girls even after scrolling for a while. my intention was just to ask whether or not there actually were non-white girls in those sororities (and apparently there are so thank u lmao).
on another note though, it's really disappointing that kappa/pi phi are known at cal to be the "top" sororities. no hate towards the actual girls in the sororities because i know awesome girls in both of them, but the lack of diversity and its correlation to higher societal ranking at cal is legitimately terrible and is a "pattern" that needs to be addressed
- 41
- 54
Report