Just over a month ago, I published an opinion piece on the state of Greek life on university campuses: is it discriminatory? And if so, towards whom? Since then, I have decided to begin a series on this topic, examining accusations of the failure of Greek life at universities to be inclusive to all races, gender identities and sexualities. This article is the first in this series.

I spoke with Tierney Bates, director of the Cultural Center at the University of Louisville. Mr. Bates has had 13 years of experience dealing with such issues of discrimination, not just in Greek life, but also with other campus groups. "I've had to deal with everything," Bates said, "everything from violence [...] judicial issues, financial aid issues, [...]discrimination issues, you name it." Mr. Bates was also a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

As of the 2013-2014 school year, Forbes indicates the student population of the University of Louisville was 76.44 percent white, 11.48 percent African American, 3.64 percent Hispanic, and 3.12 percent Asian. When asked if the three Greek life councils -- Interfraternity Council (IFC), Panhellenic Council (PHC), and National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) -- represent these numbers accurately, Bates said, "They are very diverse. Could they always be better? Of course."

However, when asked about the individual councils, Bates had more detail to provide. For the Interfraternity Council, Bates commented, "It's probably not representative of LGBT, but probably representative of race. Not high, but probably equal to NPHC." When asked about Panhellenic Council, Bates agreed it would be the same.

However, to Bates, NPHC is somewhat different, "I would say it's more LGBT [representative], but not as inclusive from a race standpoint." Which raises the question of why NPHC seems more race exclusive than IFC or PHC.

Historical context:

"The majority of [NPHC fraternities and sororities] were started at [Historical Black Colleges and Universities]," Bates said. This was due to the fact they were not allowed to join IFC organizations at their inception. Unfortunately, today, many IFC and PHC members do not know about this history, or much about NPHC organizations in general.

The first fraternity along these lines, Alpha Phi Alpha, was founded at Cornell University in 1906 and spread from there, emulating the already-established white IFC model, to provide a professional collective for black men. From there, other NPHC fraternities and sororities began to emerge. "Their focus at the time was, 'We know we can join SAE, or TKE, or anything like that, [but] we're going to start our own organizations to focus on service and... trying to expand the intellectual body of African Americans," said Bates.

This drive to recruit and expand the intellectual body of black professionals in historically black fraternities and sororities has carried over into the modern day. But are these organizations still necessary in a post Civil Rights era? The answer was mixed.

Bates answered, "Yes because students [of color] on a predominately white campus will feel they'll be ostracized, their voices won't be heard, and they won't feel, sometimes, acclimated to the campus," yet on the other hand, "No... It would be great to see all of [fraternities and sororities] work together, but I think that historical context is what's always going to be the divide."

Recruitment:

While the number of black males in both IFC and NPHC organizations at UofL are about the same, no comment was made on the numbers of black females in PHC and NPHC organizations. Nevertheless, Bates believes the equal amount of black males in both IFC and NPHC organizations is relatively equal because of the different types of men they recruit. NPHC organizations here at UofL do not accept freshmen, unlike IFC organizations, "Too many people come here freshman year and get caught up in the [Greek life] hype. It takes them longer to graduate, they're not doing what they need to do in the classroom," Bates said.

But there's also another side to the coin in recruitment. "You're seeing more and more non-African Americans join NPHC organizations for the simple fact of serving and giving back and the brotherhood and sisterhood of being in a smaller network," said Bates. Additionally, when you graduate from an NPHC organization, you are a member for life in an alumni chapter, upholding the same values. "Now the IFC organizations want to form alumni chapters, based upon what we've done."

LGBTQ representation:

"I would say 20 percent of all African American male fraternities have an LGBT representative in it... The sororities, I don't know as much," Bates said. However, Bates indicated he wants to research the acceptance of LGBT individuals in such organizations because, "traditional masculinity might be an issue with some [members]."

On the UofL campus, however, Bates noted, "Every organization, except two, has one [LGBT representative]," which ranks much better than the national 1/5 estimate Bates provided.

This does not come as much of a surprise considering the University of Louisville has recently been ranked as one of the top 25 LGBT-friendly campuses in the United States. However, it is also important to note, the metrics used to evaluate campuses under the report did not explicitly include a category for Greek life acceptance.

Sexism:

As noted in my previous article, the University of Louisville mandates all registered student organizations to include this clause in their governing constitution:

The membership of this organization shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender or gender expression, religion, age, nationality, political affiliation, sexual orientation or affectation, military status, or physical, mental or emotional disability, except as provided by federal law.

However, the fact there continues to be sexually segregated fraternities and sororities seems to violate this mandate. Phi Beta Sigma, to which Mr. Bates belongs, has solved this issue, "Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta are constitutionally bound. We're the only constitutionally-bound fraternity and sorority out of the NPHC."

However, nothing was noted about IFC and PHC organizations.

It seems that almost every year the media picks up on a racist or sexist remark or action made by a Greek organization.

"The biggest issue that we see when we do have these incidents are most likely lack of exposure and ideology," Bates said. The environment someone grows up in can foster these ideologies and students, in the prime ages of mental development, carry their ideologies with them to college.

"We don't do a good job, I think, in higher education of really talking about diversity and inclusion." Diversity and inclusion, topics that no doubt have captured the attention of the modern age, "[are] usually always an afterthought instead of being a forethought," said Bates. "Education is the most segregated thing, I think, in this country," Mr. Bates said.