Through Tufts has 11 Greek organizations with physical chapters that enjoy the benefits of on−campus housing and schoolwide recognition, Tufts is also home to several ethnic sororities and fraternities that do not have a physical presence on the Tufts campus. These organizations, coordinated by the Multicultural Greek Council (MCG), are citywide, with members from several Boston−area schools.
On the Tufts campus, both black and Latino Greek organizations are represented: Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma (fraternities) and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority are historically black organizations, while Sigma Lambda Upsilon and Lambda Upsilon Lambda are Latino−centered sororities and fraternities, respectively.
While black and Latino Greek organizations are not extremely visible at Tufts, they do have a long and rich history. According to current chapter members, ethnically specific Greek organizations were typically founded to fulfill the institutional and social needs felt by minority college students. Accordingly, the majority of black Greek organizations were founded in the early 20th century when blacks were beginning to trickle into higher educational institutions, while Latino fraternities began to form in the late 1970s.
Black fraternities and sororities are grouped under the National Pan−Hellenic Council (NPHC), which incorporates nine historically black Greek fraternities and sororities, referred to as the "Divine Nine." The NPHC was formed in 1930 at Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C. The Latino counterpart, the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO), was founded in 1998 and encompasses 20 different organizations.
While ethnic Greek organizations do enjoy some school−specific chapters and houses, members explained that in the Northeast region, where ethnic students are not as heavily concentrated and Greek life is not as popular as in other areas of the country, citywide chapters are more conducive to garnering enough members to sustain a chapter. For example, Delta Sigma Theta — a black sorority that is recognized as a student group at Tufts — incorporates several schools in its chapter, including Babson, Bentley, Brandeis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard and Wellesley. Other ethnic chapters present on the Tufts campus also encompass members from other Boston−area schools. Many of these city chapters are small — Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity currently only has two members in its Boston chapter, while Sigma Lambda Upsilon sorority has six — and when a pledge class (known in ethnic organizations as a "line") graduates, there is a possibility that the Greek organization it represents will lose all of its members.
Despite the small size of these chapters, many of their members agree that what makes these organizations unique is the fact that they draw members with similar values and ideals and they do not hold a formal "recruitment" period.
"I didn't come here wanting to be Greek, but I heard stories about the brotherhood and the camaraderie of black fraternities that lasted outside of college," junior Matthew Kincaid, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, said. Kincaid also emphasized the role that his love of black history played in his search for a fraternity.
"Dr. Martin Luther King, Duke Ellington, Thurgood Marshall — all are men of Alpha," Kincaid said.
Ariana Matias, a senior in Lambda Upsilon Lambda, emphasized the convergence of values that she held with her sorority. "A lot of us do the same work. We have our ideals: leadership, service, cultural enrichment and sisterhood. For me, it was about finding women who were as driven as I was and who were in a position to help drive me," Matias said.
Although they may seem geographically disparate, members of ethnic Greek organizations cherish the bonds they have created with students from other schools. "It's part of the culture — I have brothers at MIT, Harvard, [Boston University] — if I want to get off campus, the brotherhood is as strong as on campus," Kincaid said.
Brianna Atkinson, a sophomore in Delta Sigma, agreed. "It's been cool getting to know girls from different schools. Our older sisters are from Wellesley, MIT and Harvard, and I have enjoyed getting to know their experiences at those schools," she said.
"Just having sisters at other schools is great — our network is huge. We do believe that our sisterhood is until death; we are always there for one another," senior Vanessa Salazar, the president of the MGC and a member of Lambda Upsilon Lambda, said.
Ethnic Greek organizations are specifically focused on community service, a feature that members agreed initially drew them to their respective chapters. "I also liked what [my chapter] stood for," Montez Paschall, a junior in Phi Beta Sigma, said regarding how he felt during initial events.
Recently, his chapter organized a scholarship gala, and it enjoys close ties with the Greater Boston Food Bank. Sigma Lambda Upsilon, whose national philanthropy focuses on literature, held a collaborative "Bowling for Books" event with the MGC; all the funds went to Haiti and Chile earthquake relief.
"Our organizations tend to be more service−oriented — service and brotherhood are our two tenets. In many ways, these fraternal organizations were meant to help us come together and help us serve our communities," Kincaid said, emphasizing the centrality that community service plays in ethnic organizations.
Because the Northeastern region lacks concentrated groups of minority students, ethnic fraternities and sororities can sometimes experience difficulties at their campuses. The organizations are frequently highly complex and involve various rituals and historical traditions.
"There are so many cultural and historical elements of black fraternities that people may not understand," Kincaid said. This barrier can make it difficult for the organizations to get the same mainstream appeal as traditional houses.
Matias explained that the lack of a formal recruitment process also makes getting numbers difficult: "The student body doesn't know; we don't recruit. Our organizations aren't looking for numbers, we are looking for quality people who are leaders and committed on campus — that's not how we get members," Matias said.
Matias is especially aware of this aspect — after her graduating line, the chapter will become "dormant," as it has not received any new members. Despite this, both Matias and Salazar praised the Tufts administration's openness to ethnic groups. As the president of the MGC, Salazar has worked closely with Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman this past year. "He has shown that the administration understands the presence of black and Latino fraternities and our mission," Salazar said.
