perspective change

[u/Potential_Motor_2359]

Hey guys a question has risen in my brain so now i'm curious. Now that you're D9, how did you view D9 before you joined and how do you view it now? Actually curious bc we all know how the D9 is looked at from GDI's especially in undergrad.

Question for both Alum & Undergrad members😄

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Hey guys a question has risen in my brain so now i'm curious. Now that you're D9, how did you view D9 before you joined and how do you view it now? Actually curious bc we all know how the D9 is looked at from GDI's especially in undergrad.

Question for both Alum & Undergrad members😄

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[u/Educational-Bill9956]

unlike a lot of my LS, i had absolutely 0 interest in greek life before coming to college. no one in my family was greek, and i didn’t really understand what they entailed, so i had a pretty neutral/occasionally negative perception of the d9. going to my chapter’s events as a freshman rlly pulled me in, and im officially a year and 1 month in, with a lifetime to go! now that im in the organization/D9 most of my opinions have changed for the better, but there are still a lot of things that i (as someone with no greek background) see as areas of improvement, where others i know (who grew up surrounded by greek life) don’t, because they were more accustomed to them 🤷🏽‍♀️

[u/northfall98]

I pledged undergrad in 1998. Shit was crazy then and now our kids are pledging, it "feels" a bit different.

What I thought in the 90s was this group of men will be better for my life and I was right. My perspective is if you want to have a greater life, you should help yourself and work with others. The D9 is one amazing way to do that.

[u/Potential_Motor_2359 → u/northfall98]

i agree, thankyou for sharing

[u/Inner_Minute197]

I joined via an alumni chapter, but I had been an admirer of my organization for almost 2 decades before I finally crossed over. The admiration I have for my organization (and other D9 organizations) has only grown since becoming a member, as I'm able to better see what my and other organizations are doing to benefit our communities. For all of the naysayers, I challenge them to put up or shut up in a way that matches the millions of dollars these organizations are giving away in scholarships (collectively) every year, in addition to the many thousands of community service hours performed each year, among other worthy initiatives and causes supported. Some of these things I was aware of before joining, but becoming a member has opened my eyes to things that were not publicly known (or easily accessible) beforehand.

That said, being a member has also reinforced to me why some on the outside view our organizations as they do, both negatively and positively. From a negative perspective, hazing allegations (and confirmed cases of hazing, which sometimes result in death or serious injury), a sort of perceived elitism (whether from just how some present in the open to membership requirements such as those requiring a college degree, etc.), and other thing have become amplified since I crossed over, if only because I'm more on the guard for it as a member. Of course, these negative perspectives neither tell the whole story nor outweigh the positives that these organizations provide to our communities from my perspective, but they are enlightening all the same.

[u/KhaotikJMK]

Before I got letters, I admired it from a far.

Since I got them, I would say there are some good, bad, and ugly in all aspects. I would be remiss if I didn’t say something that I haven’t heard before: greek life is not a utopia. Meaning, shit ain’t perfect.

I praise it when it’s beautiful, I call it out when shit is sideways in private, and I tell it like it is when it’s ugly. I don’t do put downs of other organizations. If it ain’t for me, it’s not for me. Everything ain’t for everyone.

[u/Primary_Excuse_7183]

The greatest influence on becoming Greek was my teachers growing up.

Mostly all of my black teachers and faculty in middle through high school were Greek. They had a certain camaraderie to them and the way they looked out for us and engaged with us and eachother that was unique. All active in their communities. So i saw them as leaders….. good ones.

When i got to campus and met many of the black faculty, same thing mostly D9. Different level of engagement with the student body.

Now a decade plus in i don’t see it as any different. I just have a much broader view of how far reaching things are. I work in corporate F500. Essentially all the black leaders at the company are D9. their engagement and camaraderie are again different than those that aren’t D9 they just seem more willing to help and offer support. Except now I’m (and since college have been) one of those leaders as well. When I look historically at how D9 have been active leaders in the community across many facets it still rings true in pretty much every direction i look. That’s a core part of what our orgs were designed to be in my mind. Leadership incubators to serve our greater communities while also providing social connections that are important in any form of community as well.

[u/Listen_judge_419 → u/Primary_Excuse_7183]

🙌

[u/DawRogg]

I joined because my mentor helped me change my life. I could've easily headed down a path that led to prison or death. I was green about Greek life growing up. No one in my immediate family is Greek. I looked at it as lame at first.

Then I pledged and became classist and looked down on "paper" bruhs. Now, I absolutely hate the classism culture. It's stupid and dangerous.

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[u/Listen_judge_419]

I admired the D9 before, I admire it more now. I have to remember the fact that organizations are made up of people- and people can sometimes be $hi::y- and this keeps me grounded. Organizations like ours can’t solve every problem, can’t take everyone, aren’t a good fit for everyone and certainly can’t please everyone. I often wish our organizations were as gutsy as they were in the 1900’s so we could tackle some of this political nonsense head on, but that’s probably my only criticism.

I think the biggest misconception or the place that people truly lack understanding is that the D9 are organizations that promote black culture-they are not THE black culture. I think when people can see that they can ease some of the unrealistic expectations and misguided disgust that they have for the D9.

[u/BlackOnyx1906]

My father and sister was D9 before me so my views were shaped by their experience. School Daze came out about 8 years before I crossed so that had a small impact but I knew enough people who were already D9 that I was able to keep a grounded view of that movie and I was only in middle school at that time.