Times They Are A Changing, But things Don't Change Unless You Make Them

My thoughts on Racism in the American College Fraternity.
(This was a HUGE rant I wrote a week ago, and waited, reflected, and edited this version)

Well Bob Dylan said that "Times they are a changing"... or others say that time stands still for no one.

It is true, time is changing, it moves and goes forward and we age... technology makes those times pass faster and faster... trends come and go... baggy jeans, low rise, skinny jeans and high wasted jeans... it all turns and turns.

You know what though? Things Don't Change, unless you make them change. I am guilty at times... I change the channel... I look the other way... I can't help Venezuela or bring peace to the middle east. I can't get the Tea Party from running a muck in American politics and I can't make everyone care about global warming and sustainability.

You can't wait for things to change, for things to get better.

It is a sad world that we are still fighting such primitive things in the world... hate, injustice, oppression... and fighting them in organizations that are supposed to be the best, to be setting the example...

I do however have things I can control. How I behave, the things I say, the places I go, who I associate with and how I choose to use my influence in this world. Yes we have to pick our battles, but sometimes that means we have to pick fights.

I might be getting ready to pick a fight, or maybe I am just severely lacking sleep... or both.

One thing I can no longer just stand back and accept... is all these racist acts on college campuses, that are coming from the people who are supposed to be the campus leaders. I work in that market, I have influence in that market, and enough is enough.

This fall was that ridiculous mess at Alabama... another round of racist claims made there, this time with much fact and merit behind them and the response from most people wasn't shock or surprise... it was "Well thats Alabama". I was mad that the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors who barely made a peep about it, and at their annual meeting business as usual about how great everything is going.

USA Today Article on Alabama: LINK

Then recently was the issue at Ole Miss with the statue of James Meredith getting a noose put around his neck. Lets be honest, I thought it, and I am sure many others did... Probably Fraternity prank... and yep. Sure enough was, yeah the chapter turned the guys in... so do they deserve a medal? They knew it would come out, so they acted, but they can't act like heroes now. Once again... the response from people was "well its Mississippi"... we expect that from them right? We expect that from Southern Fraternities right? Am I being negative and hyper critical, yeah absolutely. Read some news about it below.

The Ole Miss Article: LINK

So those two things, and not the only racist Greek items to make the news this year... just happened in 2013 and 2014. This isn't 1968 and we are hoping that these fraternities change their ways... It is freaking 2014, we are getting close to 50 years since MLK was assassinated... and we still are hanging nooses around black men's necks in the South? We still can't let a Black woman into a "historically" White sorority? We still don't get mad when we see it happen time and time again?

So lets stop acting like race isn't an issue. Let's stop pretending that teaching cultural competency is the solution. Let's stop pretending that hiring an expensive diversity speaker for Greek Week gets us anywhere... cause clearly none of that has worked. It's why I never wanted to be a diversity speaker, I don't want to be the guy you hire to say some stuff and then we go back to the status quo.

I think it is time we get to the heart of the matter, and no I don't have the solution, but I know not talking about it won't make things better.

Times they are a changing, but this thing won't change unless we make it... and I am ready to bring it. Now I just need to figure out what I am going to do about it...