Ole Miss is nationally renowned for its vibrant Greek life, consistently placing in the top five on many websites that rank colleges by sorority and fraternity culture. Graduates say the best years of their lives happen at Ole Miss, and they create lasting relationships with those they cross paths with during matriculation. Those feelings of pride and excitement are not exclusive to students involved with Greek life, but they are certainly amplified.
Ole Miss has a thriving National Pan-Hellenic Council community on campus, which is often overlooked by ranking sites and individuals on campus alike. For those unfamiliar, the NPHC is a collection of historically Black sororities and fraternities, as opposed to the predominantly white Greek conglomerates of the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic council. Outside of occasional recognition here and there, the endeavors that NPHC organizations involve themselves in often go unnoticed.
Typically, the most you would hear about these organizations involves the stepping, strolling, hopping and other creative, passionate displays of membership. This misconception grossly undersells the purpose of the NPHC, though.
Still, any member of these honorable organizations would tell you what they do is not for credit, but rather for the development and uplifting of the communities they interact with. These organizations pride themselves on serving as a pillar of Black unity and upward mobility.
As a member of the NPHC myself, I am aware of the state of Black Greeks here on campus. Please, consider this a rare opportunity to hear from select NPHC campus representatives regarding our circumstances.
In my case, I earned membership into the distinguished brotherhood of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, about 10 months ago. As a brother on campus, long days and nights have been devoted to service and advocacy. Not in the cliche way, either. Nearly every Greek organization claims to care and do the most community service work, whether its NPHC, IFC, CPH, NMGC, etc.
The difference is that this organization, the one near and dear to my heart, is deliberate and strategic about the philanthropy we involve ourselves with. Service is not hitting a quota set out by a national body. Service is about helping others, always, regardless of what is to gain from it.
Lauren Hite, a senior journalism major from Jackson, is a spring 2022 initiate of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. She spoke on the state of the NPHC and her time as a sister of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
“As a woman of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, I feel that the campus views us as leaders among our peers. I believe the women of the Theta Psi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha demonstrate our commitment to service to our campus and local community often throughout the calendar year,” Hite said.
Hite also called upon NPHC and Greek organizations to educate themselves on the other, and she noted the need for solidarity amongst NPHC sororities, also known as the Divine 9.
“The NPHC needs support and encouragement from other campus and Greek organizations. I think, as a whole, Panhellenic and NPHC could do more to learn more about each other’s culture and history. Members of NPHC need to remember the principles and values of their organizations and be determined to represent those principles daily, and (we need to) work together as Divine 9 organizations and help one another uplift our members and community,” Hite continued.
Sedric Scott, assistant director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, primarily serves as the adviser for the NPHC on campus. Additionally, Scott is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated.
Those who have engaged in discourse regarding NPHC with Scott can say that his main goal as an adviser is to help attract new members and increase its presence on campus. He does this by holding organizations accountable in all ways. By being better individually, Scott knows this will make for a strong, impressive group of organizations any student could be interested in.
Ultimately, Scott works to improve the image and perception of the NPHC. The NPHC has struggled with frequent legal troubles and eyebrow-raising hazing allegations for decades. All nine members of the council have outlawed unsanctioned pledging activities.
“The one thing I think we can improve on is telling our story,” Scott said. “We can be quickly overshadowed by everything negative that goes on with chapters. However, the number of community service hours and philanthropic dollars raised is amazing.”
Scott continued to comment on the depiction of Black Greek-lettered organizations in popular media.
“We must utilize every media outlet we have to show ‘the good’ in our work. We can’t be afraid to show future members of our organizations that every movie seen is not an adequate depiction of Greek life,” Scott said.
The dynamic Scott discussed is a dichotomy of sorts. The NPHC on campus is fighting a battle of perception on two fronts. On one hand, we are devoting much effort to be seen more often. Furthermore, we are fighting to be seen in an accurate, positive light.
Jatoni Donelson, a senior public health major and UM’s NPHC president, agreed with Scott’s sentiment. More than anything, Donelson wants these organizations and the respective members to be recognized fairly in alignment with other Greek councils on campus.
“NPHC needs more campus representation. Besides seeing the members within the council wearing their letters on campus, how else are we recognized or represented compared to other councils?” Donelson said, urging NPHC members to continue their hard work to shed light on their many positive endeavors.
“We have a Greek plot that majority of NPHC’s members barely know about, and compared to other campuses, either PWI or HBCU, there’s just a lack of effort to make sure we are represented in other ways than us just being seen on campus with our letters on,” Donelson said.
The NPHC has things to work on, and it has many individuals devoted to pushing it forward. Members, you carry a burden and hold the responsibility of positively promoting your organization.
How many allies does the council have outside of its members, though?
Online perception of Black Greek Letter Organizations has become largely negative, due to both legitimate concerns and defamation by those in search of internet clout. I ask the council to continue to look inward and address the issues that have contributed to this image. I also ask those on the outside looking in to take a holistic approach and not only look at our shortcomings, but our great achievements and profound impact on Black culture as well.
Justice Rose is the opinion editor. He is a junior journalism major from Madison, Miss.
