[20176] in APO-L
Re: APO-L Digest - 8 Feb 1999 to 9 Feb 1999(#1999-37)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Patrick Thompson)
Thu Feb 11 12:13:14 1999
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 10:40:18 -0600
Reply-To: Patrick Thompson <patrick.h.thompson@VANDERBILT.EDU>
From: Patrick Thompson <patrick.h.thompson@VANDERBILT.EDU>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
Sharon Zohar wrote:
> >The best thing I can offer is to make sure the agenda your chapter
> >pushes is not to promote sexual preferences. APO is not intended for
> >that purpose. If there are those who would like a group that does so,
> >have them find a different group to push that agenda.
>
> It sounds to me like the chapter has made the "mistake" of being a warm and
> welcoming place to all brothers, gay or straight. I wish all chapters would
> make that sort of mistake!! I pray that there comes a day when all
> chapters - and all campus organizations - see the value in welcoming members
> without regard to such things as race, gender, ethnicity, or orientation
> when those attributes are not relevant to the group's purpose.
It is possible that a chaoter that is labelled as "gay" might not have a
cullture welcoming to some straight members of the university
community. APO acts as a "safe harbor" for some people, but they need
to remember that in creating a safe harbor for themselves they can't
force other groups out of the same organization. In my chapter, there
are some people who act as if we shouldn't allow in people who'd fit in
as a traditional Greek...there has been some pretty open hostility
against people, especially girls, who plan on rushing a social Greek
house, or even act like they might. There are reasons why APO is open
to members of social Greeks; there are reasons why it's open to members
of all races, religions, and orientations. (Read the ritual--the
founders were largely social greeks) Members of historically
discriminated-against groups need to remember that if we (as an
independednt student, I can say "we" since some people seem to see
independents as a socially discriminated-against group) need to be open
to all members willing to uphold the cardinal principles...to do
otherwise would be to ghettoize ourselves.
As for recruitng straight members, that's a really touchy subject--you
can't really target a specific group without being discriminatory.
However, I know at least my chapter is majority female, and I think it
didn't hurt recruitment among guys when they learned the gender ratio.
In general, I think the best recruitment technique is to be open and
accepting of all prospectives, even those who might not be as open and
accepting of you (at least right away).
