Black Greeks at W&L

By Abri Nelson

Though Greek organizations have been a part of the culture of Washington and Lee University for decades, few students know much about the historically black fraternities and sororities on campus.

Alpha Phi Alpha, the first historically black men's fraternity, established a campus chapter in 1973, but membership fell off a few years later.  It was reinstated for a for a short time in the early 1990s in conjunction with the chapter at James Madison University, and then again in 2005.

At the same time in 2005, the black sorority Delta Sigma Theta and Phi Beta Sigma fraternity were established on campus. It took months before the chapters were welcomed to campus officially but few students knew that they were coming because they were not part of the Inter-Fraternity Council or the Panhellenic council.

"The process happened very quickly and it kind of blew me away," said Dean Tammy Futrell, one of the advisors for the black Greek organizations on campus. "The ball just started rolling and when it started rolling it was rolling simultaneously for all three groups."

A second sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, also has three members on campus in conjunction with the chapter at Roanoke College and is hoping to strengthen the campus chapter within the next year.

Black Greek organizations differ from the IFC and Panhellenic organizations because they focus on service, according to Futrell and Delta Sigma Theta president Jasmine Randolph.  And, unlike the majority organizations, black Greek activities are not just limited to black Greeks.

Friday night's Fire and Ice Ball celebrates Alpha Phi Alpha's 100th anniversary.  The ball is open to all students and coincides with World AIDS Day, December 1.  Funds raised by the Ball will be donated for AIDS research. 

Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.

Lead supervisor:      Prof. Claudette Artwick

Reporting supervisors:

Prof. Doug Cumming

Prof. Robert de Maria

Prof. Phylissa Mitchell

Technical supervisor:  Michael Todd