University of Alabama - “ peak neo-antebellum white Southern culture” - NYT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so defensive. I guess bama rush fans don't like to be criticized.

+1 Similar to the defensiveness of mostly white colleges in New England.

Who gets offended when New England schools get criticized?

I don’t think they care given the application and acceptance rates, endowments, and alum networks

You must not have read the threads on schools such as Middlebury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much white hate. Perhaps should join the orange haired lady with the revisionist history theory that went to Howard.

Lol. This is good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to pay to read it No thanks

This is dcum, the majority of people here sub to NYT

Dallas urban moms is that way ➡️

DP. Not me. I subscribe to the WSJ after ditching the WaPo.

Me too.

[Anonymous]

It’s funny to watch liberals disguise their misogyny as being critical of white people. I mean, funny to me as a conservative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny to watch liberals disguise their misogyny as being critical of white people. I mean, funny to me as a conservative.

I am a moderate liberal and I agree. Of course in general I think the progressive left has wholeheartedly embraced misogyny lately. This is just one more endless iteration of it.

[Anonymous]

On the topic of journalism, does anybody else listen to the podcast ‘Ink Stained Wretches’ like me? It’s weekly.
It’s my new favorite. They’ll have a good laugh at this one I’m assuming

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand why she glossed over the differences between Divine Nine and Panhellenic (traditional) sororities. That’s a much richer and more complicated story, which I would actually like to read about.

[Anonymous]

In reading this again she is mainly stating facts/describing the culture. I don't see any editorializing until later in the piece.

Her point was the perpetuation of the white power structure in this seemingly 'harmless' greek scene, esp in pointing out The Machine in Alabama. This is absolutely a real phenomenon in southern culture, even if it is not as stark/overt as it was 40-50 years ago.

Not sure what role the Divine Nine has in the power structure in southern or US society - I would like to know more on that.

Signed, former southern Tridelt (who wasn't believed by pp above what whatever)

[Anonymous]

Delta Delta Delta is real? That’s hilarious.

[Anonymous]

Why would I care what the NYT thinks of Alabama?

[Anonymous]

I was surprised when doing a tour of places like Clemson, Wake Forest, UNC, etc. that those schools don't seem to have a heavy greek presence (and many don't have their own houses...just special dorm areas)...and they all emphasized that rush doesn't happen until Spring of Freshman year.

Is it really just the SEC that takes it to the extreme?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised when doing a tour of places like Clemson, Wake Forest, UNC, etc. that those schools don't seem to have a heavy greek presence (and many don't have their own houses...just special dorm areas)...and they all emphasized that rush doesn't happen until Spring of Freshman year.

Is it really just the SEC that takes it to the extreme?

No, it’s similar in the Midwest and Texas, as well as at the non-SEC Florida schools. I’m not as familiar with the west coast but I know UCLA sororities all have houses and do fall rush, so I wouldn’t be surprised if other UCs are similar.

I don’t think there’s any school where rush is the spectacle that it is at Bama, but even so, Bama isn’t even majority greek.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/opinion/bama-rush-tiktok-race.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Angry woman from NYT big mad that Bama girls are hot and also big mad that outsiders think the Bama girls are hot also.

“ Their Southern accents are the linguistic equivalent of pointing a ring light at their shiny hair and tasteful makeup. ”

“ that accent is seductive. It says these are ideal women from a regional culture that values traditional gender norms ”

“ these sororities’ annual viral juggernaut is counterprogramming to the Northeastern elite university brand. The Bama version is wholesome, nonthreatening, traditional femininity in Lululemon athleisure. ”

The whole article is a must read

No thoughts on the history of segregation and Greek life? On the role of the Machine? You're missing the point if you think this piece and other critiques of the system are directed at the "shiny hair and tasteful makeup."

NP: Here's my thought, as the parent of a DS who is the recruitment chair for his fraternity at an SEC university: the past is not the present. Past segregation is undeniably abhorrent. The CURRENT young men in any given fraternity in 2023 should not be assumed to be racist aholes.

My son's fraternity has a respectable representation of white, Asian (east and south) members. The representation of Hispanic members is consistent with the university as a whole (e.g, 11% :: 11%, or 18% :: 18%). There are a lot of men from the Middle East, too. But. They have great difficulty attracting Black pledges despite a lot of concerted and creative recruiting efforts. DS says he thinks they lose out to Alpha Phi Alpha.

While not excusing the past, I wish people wouldn't reflexively assume present Greek houses all hope to stay as white as the hack author imagines. To do so is dishonest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/opinion/bama-rush-tiktok-race.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Angry woman from NYT big mad that Bama girls are hot and also big mad that outsiders think the Bama girls are hot also.

“ Their Southern accents are the linguistic equivalent of pointing a ring light at their shiny hair and tasteful makeup. ”

“ that accent is seductive. It says these are ideal women from a regional culture that values traditional gender norms ”

“ these sororities’ annual viral juggernaut is counterprogramming to the Northeastern elite university brand. The Bama version is wholesome, nonthreatening, traditional femininity in Lululemon athleisure. ”

The whole article is a must read

No thoughts on the history of segregation and Greek life? On the role of the Machine? You're missing the point if you think this piece and other critiques of the system are directed at the "shiny hair and tasteful makeup."

NP: Here's my thought, as the parent of a DS who is the recruitment chair for his fraternity at an SEC university: the past is not the present. Past segregation is undeniably abhorrent. The CURRENT young men in any given fraternity in 2023 should not be assumed to be racist aholes.

My son's fraternity has a respectable representation of white, Asian (east and south) members. The representation of Hispanic members is consistent with the university as a whole (e.g, 11% :: 11%, or 18% :: 18%). There are a lot of men from the Middle East, too. But. They have great difficulty attracting Black pledges despite a lot of concerted and creative recruiting efforts. DS says he thinks they lose out to Alpha Phi Alpha.

While not excusing the past, I wish people wouldn't reflexively assume present Greek houses all hope to stay as white as the hack author imagines. To do so is dishonest.

I don't think she is saying that or blaming kids like your son. She is just pointing out the fact that by their very nature these organizations specifically the PR surrounding rush right now does uphold the white southern culture. I don't think that can be disputed. Try not to take it personally.

[Anonymous]

For the record, I think rushing is weird. And I went to Smith College, which is pretty much the polar opposite of everything happening in that opinion piece.

But for this opinion piece to work for me, I'd need to know some datapoints, not just the author's opinions. In particular:

- How often do AA rush predominantly white sororities/frats? Follow-on questions: why or why not are the AA rush rates what they are?
- How often do AA rush but get turned down? This would be key to documenting the author's insinuations about systemic racism or something.

Otherwise, this article reads like "white people doing white things = bad." Yes, I think Bama Rush is weird, but it's a free country and people (a very small subset of white women) are free to be weird. But the jury's still out about whether this is part of white systemic racism, until we move past our opinions and into the facts.