The idea began more than 100 years ago in the halls of Cornell University. In 1905 7 of the 16 black male students attending the school sought to unite their ideas by creating what would later develop into the first historically black Greek organization Alpha Phi Alpha. Twenty-five years later eight more black fraternities and sororities known as the Divine Nine joined together to create the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). Nearly 80 years later none of these nine can be found on Pepperdine’s campus. This makes it the only major Southern California university not to have at least one member of the Divine Nine on its Greek roster.
“Every single one of our Greek organizations on this campus is historically white said Director of Pepperdine’s Intercultural Affairs Don Lawrence. They have been white since their inception and the majority of their membership is white across the United States. Not to say that there is anything wrong with that it is just a statement of fact.”
As a result alumna Ashley Ross sophomore Jessica Jordan and seniors Kendria Smith Carmelle Nesbitt Ki’Jhana Friday and Jade Clemons began dicussing this issue with Pepperdine officials more than a year ago. Smith and Nesbitt are co-presidents of the Black Student Association. Their end goal was to incorporate one of these historically black sororities into the Pepperdine mix. This would mean that they would not be exclusive to black students.
“I’ve been working on this ever since sophomore year Friday said. People just don’t get it and that has been what has made the process so long.”
What they don’t understand according to Lawrence is a lot. In a recent meeting which was hosted by Lawrence to help educate the Student Government Association’s executive board on diversity this very issue was addressed.
“I was involved in a rather heated meeting where students expressed concerns they had about this but those concerns were largely based on ignorance Lawrence said. Their concerns were usually about whether a NPHC organization would cause segregation on campus. The more we talked about it the more students who didn’t understand it came to understand it.”
SGA President Hunter Stanfield clarifies that the specific issue regarding NPHC organizations has not been discussed by members of SGA. However Director of Student Affairs Jacob Gross met with SGA Wednesday to answer questions and inform them about the group of students who want to establish a black sorority.
While some students begin to make positive interpretations of a black sorority others including senior and Vice President of Pepperdine’s Kappa Alpha Theta chapter Noma Nkala said it would not fit in with the existing Greek system.
“I think that you might find that having a historically African American sorority might bring more harm than good as far as campus diversity and interracial relations go Nkala said. I wouldn’t want girls feeling like they had to join a certain sorority and I’m afraid that this is what it would lead to. I think the Pepperdine Greek experience should be about meeting people you would have otherwise not met. It shouldn’t be about ‘Oh I’m African American Irish American or Armenian too – let’s hang out.'”
However for a few graduates from colleges with NPHC organizations they see a more optimistic future. Gross is beginning to offer his own personal account as proof behind his positive opinions of these Greek groups.
“We had eight of the Divine Nine sororities and fraternities on our campus and as adviser I thought it was great Gross said. I think this would be a wonderful thing for Pepperdine. This is just another student group meeting the needs of a group of students just like every other organization on campus.”
Associate Dean of Student Affairs and former Black Student Union leader at Pepperdine Tabatha Jones also uses her own background with the NPHC as an argument in favor of bringing this new Greek organization to campus.
“I spent one semester as a student at South Texas State University where I had the opportunity to observe a strong presence of NPHC groups Jones said. I was very impressed with the traditions of service embedded in these organizations. I’m also impressed that the students at Pepperdine are more open to new and innovative ideas about diversity then when I went to school here.”
When Jones attended Pepperdine she said black students only made up three percent of the on-campus population. Nesbitt is dealing with a slightly different climate even though the black student presence on campus has only risen to 7 percent according to Nesbitt and Jones.
“I have received a positive response from the student body Nesbitt said. I’ve heard concerns that having a historically African American Greek letter organization will segregate the Greek system but other than that we’ve had white students and black students interested in this. Overall we’ve received a ton of support.”
Even with more than 100 years of history behind them the future of these organizations on campus is uncertain. Although the first NPHC organization was allowed to set up an informative booth at Pepperdine during this years’ New Student Orientation the process of accepting a specific sorority is still a distant hope according to Lawrence.
“To be honest Pepperdine is sorely behind the times; this is not at all a new idea Lawrence said. All we are trying to do is move us into a more accurate reflection of where we are in this country. We are simply trying to work toward diversity.”