Eastern Illinois Alphas co-host “More than Gangs vs. Greeks” forum

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Young black men across the country gather together wearing similar colors and sharing hand signals and calls that are only distinguishable to those within certain circles.

Those dressed in red share hand signals and calls that are only shared among others in red – and the same applies to those dressed in blue and those who wear black and gold.

At first glance, the group may be identified as a gang, but by digging a little further one may be able to differentiate between those in gangs and those in fraternities.

On Feb. 23, men of Phi Rho Eta Fraternity, Inc. and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. hosted an event, titled “Greeks vs. Gangs,” in Lumpkin Hall Auditorium which they discussed this comparison.

Reading an article to open the event, Dorrian White quoted from an article: “Stepping onto a college campus would confuse anyone trying to identify these groups, because Greek-letter organizations share very similar customs.”

Within the event, a panel of four students, along with the audience members, spoke about the similarities and differences between the Greek organizations.

A similarity that students noted the passion and pride that gang members and Greek-lettered students have for their respective organizations.

“A similarity that they have is the passion,” said Darius White, president of Alpha Phi Alpha. “We (Greeks) wear our colors and our letters with pride, as well as the gangs.”

Speaking about both organizations, host Marcus Waller, Phi Rho Eta member, asked about what everyone at the event thought about the induction processes of Greek-letter organizations and street gangs, asking everyone to recollect what they have heard about violence being a key part in the processes.

“I think that in a gang situation jumping in makes more sense,” said Gary Pearson, a senior political science major. “I think from a Greek standpoint that is extremely unnecessary because this is supposed to be within an educational atmosphere.”

The panel and audience members went on to speak about the brotherhood and sisterhood of Greek-letter organizations, debating about the allegations of hazing that takes place within them.

“Granted that Greek-letter organizations say ‘We are a non-hazing organization,’ we (students) do hear the stories,” said Kendall Jackson, a sophomore pre-business major.

Another similar trait some believe both Greek organizations and gangs share is their behavior toward those who are not within their respective circles.

“In gangs, I know that they are not favorable toward people who are not like them,” said William Robinson, advisor for Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity Inc. “The Greeks are tolerant of other people, in my opinion.”

Kappa Alpha Psi president Andrew Hubbard agreed there are several similarities between Greeks and gangs, but that the most important thing to take away from a comparison of the two organizations is the difference in their intent. He said the similarities are obvious: the colors, hand signals, calls and even possibly the reason why someone has taken interest in joining the organizations, but that their intents are very different.

“Those things parallel. There are a lot of the same things going on,” Hubbard said. “This road… it goes together for a long way. When you get to the root of why it’s being done is when we all hit that fork and we separate, but for the majority of it we’re on the same plain.”

Robinson and Hubbard each spoke about the security offered by each organization, along with each group’s goals and definition of success.

“With Greeks it’s more about trying to promote character qualities like – integrity, honesty, and striving for success,” he said. “A lot the successes are achieved through unethical means with a gang.”

“The qualities that we (Greeks) want are more of the righteous and positive qualities,” Hubbard said.

Greek organizations put an emphasis on brotherhood and sisterhood within their organizations, as well as a sense of commitment – traits that may also be found in gangs.

“There is no difference in the strength of the brotherhood or the connectivity,” Hubbard said. “It looks like we’re the same thing until you get down to our morals and our principles-our core.”

Addressing the issue of hazing within Greek organizations as compared to the violence involved in some gangs’ inductions, Robinson said “there’s not much difference.”

“Anytime you’re doing that, you’re violating an individual’s,” he said. “I believe that a much more positive approach needs to be constantly used to create an atmosphere of respect for one another.”

The comparison of Greek-lettered organizations to street gangs is something that may continue to be made and, while people may not necessarily agree with each other’s opinions on the matter, some believe that the dialogue is beneficial.

“It’s good that the students were able to talk about it in a somewhat respectful way and not being unappreciative of others’ opinions,” said P.J. Thompson, advisor for Alpha Phi Alpha. “I think there definitely needs to be more dialogue about things like that.”

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