Over the past several weeks, stories have gone viral about
the University of Alabama’s struggle with racism within social sororities. The
issue began several weeks ago with the “formal recruitment” process when
several African American girls were not offered bids to sororities due to the
color of their skin. The issue was discovered when several sorority members
spoke up that their alumnae had prohibited them from inviting African American
girls to join their sororities. The issue has since been resolved through the
university president and sororities re-opening rush and offering bids to those
girls who were originally turned away.
This
story particularly speaks to my heart because my best friend from high school
is one of those girls who was cut from every sorority. I was able to speak with
her throughout the process and I gained a little insight to how it feels to be
discriminated against. She and I both found it very discouraging that she was
equally as qualified as other girls, yet she was simply looked over and gotten
rid of. Had it not been for the girls in the sororities speaking out about their
alumnae, the discrimination would continue today. However, the girls did speak
up and my friend was able to join a newly integrated sorority. I am happy to
know that there are people still fighting for what is right, and I am proud to
have a friend that is making history each day.
Technology
played a key role in the discovery and resolution of the issue. The news clips
and articles spread like wildfire, and helped to speed up the process of making
things right. Without technology, it is quite possible that we would never have
learned about the issue in the first place. In this case, technology benefited
both the women at the University of Alabama and the people of the United
States, as this is one step closer to equality for all.
http://nation.time.com/2013/09/20/university-of-alabama-integrates-sororities/
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