ASIAN AMERICAN GREEK LIFE
as spaces of inclusion and exclusion
The Origins of Greek Life
The first fraternity in America formed at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, on December 5, 1776, when a group of students formed the secret society Phi Beta Kappa after the first initials of the Greek motto, “Love of wisdom, the guide of life” setting the tone and characteristics of many fraternities that followed after; a Greek-letter name, a Greek motto, an oath of secrecy, a ritual, a seal and a secret grip or handshake. Phi Beta Kappa existed as a social group for its first 50 years and other chapters were established at other schools such as Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth.
In 1909, 26 men’s groups formed the National Interfraternity Conference composed of 63 fraternities, and in 1930, eight national sororities and fraternities united to form the National Pan-Hellenic Council (Jones, 1976, 1-2). Sororities formed when young women began to enroll in higher education institutions that had previously been all-male colleges. Modeled after men’s groups, many women’s fraternities (the term sorority didn’t exist until 1974) arose with the first sorority founded on January 27, 1870, at DePaul University in Greencastle, Indiana (1).
Fraternities began owning and maintaining property and thus changed the nature of fraternities introducing with this change new advantages and disadvantages: strengthening unity, discipline, activities, and friendship. However, many fraternities and sororities engaged in exclusive and even dangerous behavior found in the “rushing” process and racial discrimination, sparking debate over whether fraternities should have the right to exist (Jones, 1976, 3). Helen Horowitz (1988) argues that “prejudice among college students found its institutional form on campus in the Greek system” (145) which banned the growing number of Jewish and African American students from Greek life despite their increasing enrollment in higher education. Both groups founded their own societies such as Zeta Beta Tau and Alpha Phi Alpha founded by each respective group but they lacked the prestige and power of gentile and white societies (146).
Salinas et al. (2019) assert that historically white fraternities and sororities reproduce oppression at the institutional, cultural, and structural levels. At the institutional level, the fraternity system was created for America’s elite: rich white men. Particularly, rich white men who wanted to seclude themselves from their middle-class peers, and have “historically and continue to reproduce oppression and privilege whiteness from one generation to the next through institutions such as White alumni networks” (31).
The Start of Asian Greek Life (At UCLA)
The Greek system has a contentious history with race. Most organizations had official bans against non-white students from joining, including Asian Americans during the first half of the twentieth century (Lee, 1995; Park, 2008). During this period of racial exclusion, Jewish students and Black students formed their own societies Zeta Beta Tau and Alpha Phi Alpha (Horowitz, 1988, 146). After all formal exclusion statuses had been dropped after they were challenged on campus, but remained, for the most part racially homogenous (Horowitz 1987, Lee 1988). Wong (2014) states the first Asian American Greek organizations were established in California universities, and many of them arose in the late 1980s and 1990s when more diverse ethnic Asian groups entered higher educational institutions in greater numbers as alternatives for Asian students are predominantly white institutions. Asian Greek Councils (AGCs) were formed at universities with multiple historically Asian American sororities and fraternities which acted as an umbrella organization to represent them at their schools.
In the 21st century, contemporary Asian American Greek life offers avenues and opportunities for Asian Americans to form friendships and solidarity in college through social activities and events that promote brotherhood and sisterhood, and give the opportunity to perform community service, apply for academic scholarships, and school pride.
The oldest Asian American fraternity is Pi Alpha Phi (est. 1926) at UC Berkeley, and since has grown to 14 chapters across the nation and is a member of the National APIA Panhellenic Association (NAPA). The first Asian American sorority was Chi Alpha Delta founded in 1929 at UCLA originally founded by Japanese Americans and is a part of the UCLA Asian Greek Council with Theta Kappa Phi (est. 1959) another sorority established as a primarily Japanese American sorority, with the initially Japanese American fraternity Omega Sigma Tau (est. 1966), but all identified as pan-Asian after the 1970s most likely due to the previous decades identity politics and the coining of the political term “Asian American” (Parks & Layborn, 2017, 30).
Lambda Phi Epsilon which was a pan-Asian interest fraternity from the start (est. 1981).
“Omega Sigma Tau is the first and largest Asian-interest fraternity established at UCLA. We proudly enter our [58th] year of leadership, excellence, lifelong friendships, and service to our community. Even after four decades, our ideals remain stout: Brotherhood, Class, Confidence, Excellence, and Diversity. Nicknamed the ‘Gentlemen of Asian Greek Council (AGC),’ Omegas excel academically, socially, and mentally. One will not find our fraternity anywhere else for we are proud to be the only chapter of its kind as our founding fathers envisioned. The experience of being part of Omegas is unlike anything one would imagine.” There is not much information we could find about the Omegas from a quick Google search or at UCLA Library, other than their description of themselves on the Asian Greek Council website. Omega Sigma Tau was founded in 1966 by Ron Watanabe, Bob Tsutsui, and Dennis Onoda of the Nissei Bruins Men’s Club with about 20 other members from the same club.
The other information we did find does not paint a flattering picture. Two articles, one from the Daily Bruin (Rodrigues, 1998) and another from the LA Times (Kerkstra, 1998) report the hospitalization of three students in a hazing event during Spring Break in 1998. Described as a “boot camp experience,” the three pledges, along with 23 other men, endured hours of push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts, and long runs on a beach and up the Tongva Steps (referred to as Janss Steps in the article) which the pledges described as “personal improvement preparation”.
.
“Thisisa freak incident... Wedon’t haze.”
The pledges suffered from massive dehydration and exhaustion. Two pledges, Marshall Lai and Derrick Koo suffered kidney failure due to muscle breakdown from extreme or long-term physical activity, and dehydration. Most of the Omega members have stayed silent when asked to describe the alleged hazing other than to say that no alcohol was involved. One Omega, Eric Chen, defended his fraternity saying,“I’m not really sure what happened–nobody is. This is not how our fraternity operates. It’s based on community service. This is a freak incident. I don’t think it’s hazing. We don’t haze.” (Rodrigues, 1998).
A third Daily Bruin article stated that the fraternity did not face any charges but was suspended in May 1998 and would remain suspended until March 31st, 1999 (Ting, 1998).
Also based on Kerkstra’s LA Times article, it indicates that the Omegas purchased a frat house sometime after 1998.
Chi Alpha Delta and Theta Kappa Phi
According to Wong (2015), women of color were also excluded from white Panhellenic Greek sororities and thus formed their own Greek letter organizations in response to discrimination and racism they faced while attending college, both to challenge the status quo of social segregation and to participate in similar rituals of “white America” (46). The first and only, two official Asian American sororities at UCLA are sister and rival sororities.
Although there is a thirty-year “age gap” between them, each considers itself to be the first Asian Greek letter sorority on campus (50).
Chi Alpha Delta was organized in 1928 by 14 Japanese American UCLA women who were banned from participating in Greek sororities.
“...to challenge the status quo of social segregation and to participate in similar rituals...”
Japanese students tended to socialize within their own groups according to Kim Hoshide a 1929 graduate and Chi alumna. Most Chi events were conducted with the Bruin Club, the only Japanese men’s club at UCLA, and also participated in tea parties, dances, hikes, and trips with other Japanese American students from USC (Hernandez, 2001). It is the oldest Asian sorority in the nation, and despite being formed by Japanese American women, has for the last three decades, become a pan-ethnic student organization accepting women of Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese heritage through different waves of migration (Kang, 2002).
Theta Kappa Phi was established in 1959 is also founded by women of Japanese ancestry, and since has become pan-Asian (Wong, 2015, 50). On their website, the Thetas state that Margaret Ohara, the founding mother of Theta Kappa Phi, was given a Panhellenic Scholarship after being mistaken for someone of Irish descent and “regretted that the woman they chose could not be invited to join any of the Greek society” (Theta Kappa Phi website). With the help of eight other women, Theta Kappa Phi was founded.
Kappa Phi Epsilon
As described on Kappa Psi Epsilon’s website (the Delta chapter),
“In 1996, twenty-four women founded Kappa Psi Epsilon at California State University, Long Beach… The sisterhood of Kappa Psi Epsilon is focused on the enrichment of each member’s life, through knowledge of Pilipinx and lture and history.
Most importantly, we are ardently committed to the discovery of internal strength. To achieve such a goal, we devote and channel our energy, time, and effort through the promotion of our five cornerstones–Academics, Community Action, Culture, Social Networking and Sisterhood. By learning about our struggles, triumphs, and failures, past as well as present, we fill ourselves with the wisdom to become better thinkers, better leaders, and better individuals.
And though Kappa Psi Epsilon is a Pilipinx-based sorority, we enthusiastically welcome people of all ethnicities. At UCLA, the Delta Chapter (est. 2005) hosts annual events such as the Pinay Symposium, Womxn’s Herstory, Delta Chapter Christmas Party, and an Ube cupcake fundraiser.”
In 2009, Kappa Psi Epsilon collected donations and organized balikbayan boxes, or care packages, filled with antibiotics, food, stuffed animals, notebooks, and toiletries for typhoon victims in the Philippines (Chang, 2009). Additionally, Kappa Psi Epsilon also supported the campaign for a Pilipino studies concentration within the Asian American studies major between 2007-2009 with Samahang Filipino, which Kappa Psi Epsilon still maintains close ties to (Rausa, 2020).
The only academic literature we could find on Filipino Greek societies is Carina Bauman’s (2016) brief mention of them in her dissertation stating,
“[Edith] Chen notes the rise of specifically South Asian and Filipino/a fraternities and sororities since the 1970s. In the same way that the presence of Asian American Greek-letter organizations speaks to the need for a sense of belonging among students of Asian descent, the rise of South Asian and Filipino/a organizations alongside existing “pan-Asian” organizations tells us quite a bit about who is and isn’t typically included in the “Asian American” label. Thus, “Asian American” is simultaneously an inclusive and exclusive concept”. (23-24)
Based on a rushee’s personal anecdotes of an AGC sorority (Grace), it is possible that South Asian and Filipino Greek societies were created in response to cultural exclusion or discrimination from East Asian members. This is an interethnic dynamic among the Asian American community which encompasses about 20+ different ethnicities, all with their unique histories and cultures but within the Asian American community, there does seem to be a subtle hierarchy of East Asians (Chinese, Japanese, and now increasingly Korean), Southeast Asian, and South Asian (Park, 2008, 549). Elements of class and socioeconomic status may also play a role in this hierarchy as Chinese and Japanese Americans are perceived to be more upwardly mobile and take more leadership positions in pan-Asian organizations.
However, we believe that immigration patterns may also play a significant role in the organization of Southeast Asian Greek societies, as many Southeast Asians arrived in the United States much later than Chinese and Japanese Americans, many of whom have already established communities since the 1700s and 1800s. Future studies on the history and organization of Filipino Greek societies could contribute immensely to understanding more about the Asian American community in college settings.
The Sorority House
Due to discriminatory racial covenants that barred them from purchasing a house, Vivian Wong explains that alien land laws specifically targeting Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Indian American farmers prevented them from purchasing and later leasing property. The Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited “aliens” ineligible for citizenship from purchasing land stating that Japanese immigrants were a “threat” in terms of economic competition and their inability to assimilate into American society.
In 1920, the law was amended to prohibit short-term leases to immigrants ineligible for citizenship. It prohibited stock companies owned by immigrants from acquiring agricultural lands. Later in 1923, a section was passed to limit the rights of U.S.-born children to hold land for their immigrant parent, two methods that Japanese Americans have used to circumvent the law (Lyon, 2023).
I n i t i a l l y , t h e l o c a t i o n o f U C L A w a s i n
S o u t h L o s A n g e l e s b u t t h e n i t w a s
m o v e d t o W e s t w o o d t o a v o i d S o u t h L A ’ s
g r o w i n g B l a c k p o p u l a t i o n . W h e n t h e
“ L e t t s ” p r o p e r t y o w n e d b y b r o t h e r s
E d w i n a n d H a r o l d J a n n s w a s s o l d t o t h e
R e g e n t s o f U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a t o
b u i l d U C L A , t h e J a n n s b r o t h e r s a l s o
t o o k c o n t r o l o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f
W e s t w o o d V i l l a g e a n d u s e d r a c i a l
c o v e n a n t s t o b a n p e o p l e o f c o l o r f r o m
o w n i n g p r o p e r t i e s o r b u s i n e s s e s i n t h e
a r e a ( L u s k i n C e n t e r f o r H i s t o r y a n d
P o l i c y , 2 0 2 2 , 3 - 4 ) .
T h e f o u n d i n g w o m e n o f C h i A l p h a D e l t a
w e r e u n a b l e t o p u r c h a s e a s o r o r i t y
h o u s e o n H i l g a r d A v e n u e i n t h e 1 9 3 0 s ,
a p h y s i c a l s p a c e w h e r e s o r o r i t y
m e m b e r s c o u l d l i v e a n d b o n d t o g e t h e r
a n d a d v e r t i s e t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n .
H o w e v e r , C h i A l p h a D e l t a h a s v i e w e d
t h i s p o s i t i v e l y , a s t h e i r d u e s a r e
s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s t h a n t h e i r
P a n h e l l e n i c c o u n t e r p a r t s b e c a u s e t h e y
d o n o t i n c l u d e t h e c o s t o f h o u s i n g ,
m a k i n g A s i a n A m e r i c a n i n t e r e s t
s o r o r i t i e s m o r e a f f o r d a b l e f o r
p o t e n t i a l m e m b e r s w h o s e f i n a n c i a l
r e s o u r c e s m a y b e l i m i t e d ( W o n g , 2 0 1 5 , 5 4 - 5 8 ) .
A Thank You to Our Participants
We would like to thank the four people who submitted to our project and took the time to fill out our form, deal with our never-ending follow-up questions, and even take the time to sit down and chat with us. These stories are not easy to share, and we are grateful that you all trusted us with personal and private information to deepen our understanding of this topic. This would not have been possible without your contributions.
Grace: But I Did Have Issues With People Questioning My “Asian-ness” 1. Olivia: I Felt Like I Was Putting on a Performance 2. Naomi: They Were People Like Me 3. Andrew: I Don’t Need These Guys To Be Validating Me 4.
GRACE: “BUT I DID HAVE ISSUES WITH PEOPLE QUESTIONING MY 'ASIAN-NESS'”
I wanted to rush for an Asian sorority to find an Asian American community on campus. It is clear that during recruitment, whether consciously or not, the sorority mostly if not completely, excluded South Asians. For example, when flyering in the quad, it appeared that they only gave fliers to lighter-skinned Asians (East and Southeast Asians). I also noticed subtle acts of discrimination against multi-racial Asians as well. Also, if my memory serves correctly, there was only one South Asian at the rush events I attended. The lack of South Asians in the Asian sororities leads to many South Asians not wanting to join them, from what I have heard from friends. The belief that South Asians would not want to join the sorority may be part of the reason the recruitment process does not make an effort to include South Asians. However, I think the clear colorism involved should be addressed.
As an East Asian, I did have the privilege of being a more accepted member of the Asian Greek Council, but I did have issues with people questioning my 'Asian-ness' due to my subpar skills in my native language.
Aside from the previously stated issues, another reason I left the sorority was the deeply engrained homophobia, misogyny, and racism that exists in Asian Greek Life. While the sorority I rushed for seemed to be welcoming to queer individuals, the Asian fraternities have many occurrences of homophobia and antiBlack racism: specifically the usage of the n-word. While I don't know of any similar incidences from the sororities, the fact that both fraternity and sorority members know about them, but ignore, accept, entertain, and/or fail to hold the frat members accountable is quite upsetting.
"Overall, I think Asian Greek Life often questions people's 'Asianness' in a harmful, exclusive, and colorist way.”
OLIVIA: “I felt like I was putting on a performance...”
Why did you decide to rush for an Asian Greek letter society?
My friends, who were other incoming students, wanted to rush so we decided to check out the events likely because they wanted to find a community and also have a group to party with.
What were your initial thoughts of Asian Greek life before rushing?
I thought it was a toxic environment with a lot of negative power dynamics. The whole idea of pledging felt like a terrible way to make friends since, from my perspective, it’s basically allowing myself to get bullied relentlessly for months to make friends. As a new student coming in I was interested in seeing whether the girls were genuinely close with each other and had a strong community but it was hard to see myself fitting in. My general opinion about Greek Life is that it’s a way to pay to make friends which isn’t necessarily a bad thing or all that it is, but it seems that people within the organization feel obligated to pretend to like each other and can cause conflicts when personalities clash.
o m i n g i n I
a s
n t e r e s t e d i n s e e i n g w h e t h e r t h e g i r l s w e r e
g e n u i n e l y
c l o s e w i t h
e a c h o t h e r a n d h a d a
s t r o n g
c o m m u n i t y
b u t i t w a s
h a r d t o s e e m y s e l f f i t t i n g i n . ”
How have your thoughts changed after rushing or being inducted into a sorority or fraternity?Why did you decide to rush for an Asian Greek letter society?
I found that there are different approaches to Greek Life. While a lot of it does focus on the social aspect, there are some organizations that have a strong community and volunteer aspect. Despite that, I still feel the overall experience confirmed my original thoughts. There was a lot of drama and whispers from even the pre-rush events and it felt very fake. It felt like everyone was being nice just to get more members, which makes sense as the members admitted that Asian Greek Life was dying out pretty rapidly, and it was hard to tell if anyone genuinely cared about prospective members. A big thing for me was the Reddit stories about the experiences of alumni of the organizations or people that were adjacent to the organizations and how negative and controlling things have been in the past.
It’s hard for me to believe that these organizations have really changed and I wonder if they’re just better at hiding it. I say this because there was a rumor about a pledge going home with a frat guy or something along those lines and a lot of extreme negativity surrounding that which felt like it pulled back the curtain on the friendly act put on for the newbies, but I’m not aware of the exact details. There was a moment when a potential pledge for one of the fraternities was making us uncomfortable and they swiftly dealt with them and kicked them out which was a positive to me, but they also kicked his roommate out which made us feel bad because he didn’t do anything and we said he was fine.
Did you learn something new about how you relate to the Asian American community? How did this experience change your perspective of yourself? Any lasting effects rushing/being inducted has given you?
I can respect that people join these organizations for community or to grow their social circles but I personally still believe that it is a very toxic environment. I think that there are a lot of expectations and pressure to be a certain way and to always act very put together, yet fun. It felt like it was important to look like you’re having fun and close with the members but I’m not entirely sure how much everyone genuinely liked each other. As someone who didn’t actually go through with joining, I can’t say I know for sure what the communities are like but in the short time I spent with the sororities, I felt very judged and like I was putting on a performance to fit into what was implied they wanted. After joining other organizations, I can look back and say I felt very uncomfortable and the experience felt like being watched and rated rather than a welcome or a chance to connect.
NAOMI: “They were people likeme...”
Why did you decide to rush for an Asian Greek letter society?
I wanted to connect with my heritage and create strong friendships with fellow Pinays. [Redacted] was a community that cultivated these outcomes with their focus on culture, intersectionality, and community service. Many of their members also held leadership positions within another Pilipino club, exemplifying their initiative for advocacy and empowerment. They were people like me — young, Pilipino, queer, navigating their complex identities, and community-oriented.
What were your initial thoughts about Asian Greek life before rushing?
I was reluctant to rush because of the time commitment, the tendency of Greek life to perpetuate heteronormativity, and accounts of hazing within various organizations. [Redacted] emerged as an exception because I saw identities like mine and it had a zero-hazing policy.
How have your thoughts changed after rushing or being inducted into a sorority or fraternity?
As much as I enjoyed the strong community it fostered, I felt strained in my academics and outside friendships. I was dedicating 80% of my week into meetings, interviews, and memorizing cultural and organizational material for our requirements. It was an emotionally taxing experience. I began to dread our weekly meetings because of random tonal shifts and stern power dynamics. If I tried to voice my anxieties, I would receive limited accommodations. Regardless of intention, it felt like reliving childhood traumas. Ultimately, it was too big a commitment and I decided not to cross. I have so much respect for my sorority siblings who did cross.
What have you learned from this experience?
I appreciate [redacted] advocacy for Pilipinos and Pilipino Americans. I find sororities like it are integral to decolonizing the self, fighting against institutions of white supremacy, and finding community. Overall, it has motivated me to continue engaging with Asian American courses.
AN INTERVIEW
WITH ANDREW:
“I DON’T NEED THESE GUYS TO BE VALIDATING ME”
JS: You rushed for [redacted]?
A: I came to a couple of events and then after the week of, I was like, ’I’m good bro’. There’s actually one Reddit post that leaked what they did and I don’t fuck with that.
JS: I’m assuming you were a freshman when you decided to rush?
A: Yeah. I didn’t rush, I just went to some events. So yeah I was a freshman, I was eighteen.
JS: So what happened at the events that you attended?
A: So there was a whole house, and we like, drank or whatever. It was my first time drinking alcohol. So we went and drank and he talked to me.
One thing I distinctly remember, I was excited because someone said they were from my hometown and one of the brothers said, "Yo yo quiet bro, there are girls here", and I was like, "What? That's kind of weird."
JS: Any other moments that changed your mind? What were your impressions of Greek life before you entered college, or before you met the members?
A: Before I thought it was just a bunch of white guys drinking and partying and you know, and hella sexual assault and I don’t fuck with that. My preconceptions were hella sexual assault, hella drinking, hella you get bad grades. One of the things they actually pitched on the first day of rushing was, "Our GPA is actually really high, you’ll do amazing in the frat. Our brothers care about each other…". So they try to appeal academically, which I guess makes sense and a lot of them were STEM majors. I remember the rush head, he was [a] nursing [student], and I was like, "Woah. That’s kind of cool I guess."
One of my concerns was, "Oh I’m pre-med. I really care about my grades and I care about going to grad school. Oh yeah, this guy is nursing and he’s got a 4.0, and he’s doing great, and he’s in the frat and you can do both". And I was like, "Oh, okay". I didn’t believe it. But I mean he’s probably cool.
Other reasons why I didn’t want to join? I saw this one Reddit post about rushing, and they either didn’t get in or pledged and dropped. They do some pretty bad things from what I’ve heard. One of the things they would do is get pledges, get really drunk, run, swim in the beach, and then swim back and that's really dangerous.
The one thing I really didn’t like about that was, one of the things they would do to pledges and actives was play tackle football. The pledges versus the actives, but the person who posted on Reddit was like, "Yeah, but it was just an excuse for actives to hit pledges and fuck them up". The actives are bigger, older people right? So, the pledges are maybe second, third, or first years mostly. And I was like, "I don’t fuck with that. That's kind of messed up."
I don’t want to be friends with people who hurt other people. And I was like, "I don’t care if you’re an active or a pledge if you hurt my friend I’m going to beat you up". That’s kind of how it works, right?
JS: Going off script, we had another person, she’s from an Asian sorority–
A: Oh I know a lot about the sororities too. It’s hella fucked.
JS: Yeah I know, there’s more psychological torture, but I think one of the things they say to excuse it was, “Oh, you’re not really Asian if you can’t take it because our parents they would hit us, so you’re not a real Asian if you can’t take it.” Or like, “It’s not that bad”.
A: That’s pretty bad… that’s pretty…
JS: So I’m wondering what your thoughts are on that because that’s not…
A: My thoughts are on that?!
JS: Because abuse is not Asian–not Asian American culture!
A: I don't know why we’re trying to claim that, it's like a common thing, I can talk about that, but I don’t want to claim that.
JS: I think within Asian American communities there is reliance on, “You’re not Asian American, or you are Asian American, but only if you have these specific [cultural and social] experiences”. So I don’t really have a question, but…
A: One, I think that's really fucked up. That's not cool, I mean, I don't know why you’re trying to perpetuate harm against Asian American people, especially Asian American women. That's not cool. I mean again, I'm a man… but I kind of get it to some extent. I mean, I’m not saying I do, but that's not cool. You’re just perpetuating it further by enforcing those stereotypes. Who are you to tell me how Asian or how culturally identifiable I am? That’s kind of silly. And I don’t like the idea of the psychological…
I don’t know why we’re hating on each other, or I don’t know why this is a claim or a race idea of ‘We need to prove that I’m Asian and you’re not Asian’. Like why are we putting each other down? We’re all in the struggle together, us, and other people of color. That just reinforces whiteness and conformist society. The white society of, "you have to be like this, or like this, this". Or "society sees Asian people as this way, so we have to do this too," and further perpetuate it.
But those ideas come again, from white society and the labels that they've stereotyped us as and to fall into those more… yeah you’re not doing us a favor. Are they doing it on purpose? Probably not, cause probably that's what they went through, but it's just… you’re trying to justify something… their own trauma maybe? Or they're trying to justify trauma and that's not okay.
JS: There's the whole thing of like just in general, not just like Asian Greek life, “Because my brothers did it to me, then I should do it to you”. Like, why don’t you just stop?
A: And the cycle…
JS: Like if you know it's bad, just stop!
A: I don’t know. Also people power trip. It’s kind of weird.
JS: Do you have any commentary on homophobia in the frats?
A: I think that probably stems from the idea that Asian American… First of all Asian American masculinity, Asian American dudes have been really desexualized and they’re not men in the broader context of everything. I felt that in my personal life and I think in a way, Asian American dudes will try and combat that by being macho, or super white, or being super masculine and not being accepting of people of different cultures or say, "I’m the shit," or they’re homophobic or stuff like that because they think they’re more masculine, or more manly, but again, that's not okay. I think that's messed up and not cool. I don’t know why…
Again it goes back to deeper levels of trauma I think. Interpersonally between your family, your friends, and where you grew up. But also on the societal level, what you’re taught as an Asian American man, and how you have to be to be cool or whatever. And a lot of it is derived from Black and Latinx culture and stuff like that right? They're seen as powerful and cool, and as an Asian American male, those guys are like, "I wanna be like that, I wanna be like them," so they take on a Blaccent, or they’ll say the n-word, or they’ll be super homophobic. Those are all things that I know of growing up because it happened to people around me.
I grew up in a very white area. It’s pretty common. Even when I got to college there were some people like that. I had an older sister so I was generally spared from that. But I mean I do kind of understand where they’re coming from. Is that okay? No, absolutely not. I think it speaks to the broader sense of how people see Asian American masculinity and Asian American hypersexuality for Asian American women as well.
JS: What have you learned from this experience? Did you learn something new about how you relate to the Asian American community? Did this change your perspective about yourself? Any other lasting effects?
A: I wouldn’t say any lasting effects, but I think it's changed my view on what it means to be Asian American. I don’t need these guys to be validating me, telling me "You’re Asian American because you can do this". I think some people can find validation in that way and that's totally cool as long as you’re not perpetuating harm to other people. If you’re finding brotherhood in the bros, and they're cool and you’re doing okay things and you’re not weird or micro-aggressing anyone, you can drink, you can smoke as long as you’re not hurting anyone or hurting yourself right? I guess I found that solidarity and sense of cultural awareness through Asian American studies. And talking with other people, not just dudes, just talking and sharing experiences and being vulnerable. I don't know if that's something they do in the frat, maybe it is, maybe it's not. I don’t know, but that's my experience.
I guess I didn't really learn too much, but I guess one thing I realized is I don’t need this kind of stuff. I don't want this kind of stuff in my life. I think I realized this about myself. I wanna be with my friends. I don’t want to trauma bond with someone. I don’t want to prove myself to be someone else's friend in the way that frat culture and sorority culture does and perpetuate that.
JS: Based on what you think, do you think Asian Greek life can be redeemed? Or reformed or, should it be abolished? One of the things they use to promote themselves is that you can basically have a close-knit friend group and then also, it’s an Asian frat or sorority, so then there's also the cultural aspect so you’re with your brothers and sisters who have similar experiences to you, or similar social or political thought as you. But is it really worth it if it comes at the expense of all the abuse or… is there even any point to having… because other cultural groups don’t do that? So is there any point to Greek life?
A: I think there is because there is a certain subsect of Greek Life.
I mean, an Asian American club and Greek life, yeah they both have parties and both have cool people, but I think the nuance of Greek life is very different it’s like, you have to earn your way to get there, one, and two, everyone will smoke or drink–I don’t know, maybe that's a stereotype. There is a difference and for people who like to do that stuff, that's totally fine, but I think that like the ways to get in there, and what you’re doing, and the kind of people you’re letting in, and what you're teaching in the frats and sororities is really important.
Who am I to say... maybe you feel more comfortable doing that stuff, or maybe you just want to find people who do that stuff, or who knows, maybe you come into college and you have no friends and you’re scared to meet people but one brother reaches out to you and says “Hey, you should join our frat you’d be really cool for it,” and you get indoctrinated into it and you live that. I'm not going to invalidate that, but...
I'm also going to say there's something wrong with that if you’re teaching the wrong things, you’re allowing harm to be perpetuated against not just Asian Americans how we’re trying to fight against our stereotypes but also if you’re just using people, or brainwashing people, or indoctrinating people that's kind of bad in any sense. That's like a larger thing of institutionalizing things. I’m not a fan of that. Going back to your original questions, should Greek life be abolished? Or should it be…
JS: Reformed? Or am I being too blackand-white about it? Or changes [you would suggest]?
A: I don't think it should be abolished, but I think there should be heavy, heavy considerations on change for the people in leadership and those positions need to ask themselves what they want out of it and what they want to do in the broader sense of what it means for Asian Americans and people coming into college. I don't think there's anything there's anything you have to uphold or value in terms of keeping these harmful traditions and hurting other people and trauma bonding other people.
“I don’t think that's okay, I think that's pretty messed up. But I do think there is merit and value in having a space specific for people who want to do those things and have that community. As long as they’re not, again, hurting other people. ”
The Future of Asian Greek Life
G r e e k l i f e , n o t j u s t A s i a n G r e e k
l i f e , h a s t h e p o t e n t i a l t o b e a
s p a c e f o r c o m m u n i t y , p r o f e s s i o n a l
a n d s o c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t , l e a d e r s h i p ,
a n d t h e f o r m a t i o n o f l i f e - l o n g
f r i e n d s h i p s . H o w e v e r , a s w e h a v e
r e a d f r o m f o u r p e o p l e w h o h a v e
p a r t i c i p a t e d i n p r e - r u s h a n d r u s h
e v e n t s w i t h t h e A s i a n G r e e k C o u n c i l ,
t h e r e a r e c o s t s t o e n g a g i n g w i t h
t h i s c o m m u n i t y .
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , n o t m u c h l i t e r a t u r e
h a s c e n t e r e d o n A s i a n o r n o n - w h i t e
f r a t e r n i t i e s o r s o r o r i t i e s a s
h i s t o r i c a l l y w h i t e G r e e k
o r g a n i z a t i o n s s i g n i f i c a n t l y
o u t n u m b e r t h e m . W e a t t e m p t e d t o s e e
i f t h e r e w a s a n y e v i d e n c e t o s u p p o r t
o u r c l a i m t h a t r a c i a l , e t h n i c , a n d
s e x u a l h i e r a r c h y a n d p o w e r
s t r u c t u r e s e x i s t w i t h i n A s i a n G r e e k
l i f e a n d s e e i f p e r s o n a l a c c o u n t s
c o u l d p o i n t t o l a r g e r d y n a m i c s a n d
s o c i a l i s s u e s w i t h i n t h e A s i a n
A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y .
I f r a c i a l h i e r a r c h i e s a r e d i s c u s s e d
i n l i t e r a t u r e i t i s t y p i c a l l y a b o u t
n o n - w h i t e s t u d e n t s a n d t h e i r
e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h t h e i r w h i t e
c o u n t e r p a r t s , a n d m o s t s t u d i e s o n
G r e e k l i f e t e n d t o f o c u s o n
f r a t e r n i t i e s .
T y p i c a l l y ( o n U C L A c a m p u s ) w o m e n
h a v e p e r f o r m e d r e s e a r c h o n A s i a n
G r e e k l i f e a n d t h e r e f o r e t e n d t o
f o c u s o n s o r o r i t i e s , s p e c i f i c a l l y
C h i A l p h a D e l t a p e r h a p s d u e t o t h e i r
d i l i g e n c e i n s t o r i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
r e c o r d s i n t h e U C L A l i b r a r y . T h e r e
i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s k n o w l e d g e
a b o u t T h e t a K a p p a P h i a n d t o o u r
k n o w l e d g e , a n y r e s e a r c h d o n e o n
O m e g a S i g m a T a u .
T h e r e a r e s i g n i f i c a n t b a r r i e r s w h e n
t r y i n g t o s t u d y t h e d a r k e r s i d e o f
c o l l e g i a t e G r e e k l i f e . F o r o n e , m a n y
f r a t e r n i t i e s a n d s o r o r i t i e s e n g a g e
i n h a z i n g a c t i v i t i e s a n d b e c a u s e
t h e y v i o l a t e s c h o o l a n t i - h a z i n g
p o l i c i e s a n d / o r a c t u a l l a w s t h e y c a n
b e v e r y s e c r e t i v e a b o u t t h e r u s h
p r o c e s s . F r a t e r n i t i e s w h o d e m a n d
t h i s b e h a v i o r t h r e a t e n p l e d g e s w i t h
m o r e s e v e r e p u n i s h m e n t s i f p l e d g e s
a r e c a u g h t e v e n s u g g e s t i n g t h e y a r e
b e i n g h a z e d l e a d i n g t o a b o u t 9 5 % o f
p e o p l e w h o k n e w t h e y w e r e b e i n g
h a z e d n e v e r r e p o r t i n g i t ( F l y n n ,
2 0 2 3 ) . B o t h o f t h e s e p o l i c i e s m a y
h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e “ d r y -
p l e d g i n g ” o f t h e O m e g a m e m b e r s
e x p o s e d i n 1 9 9 8 a n d i t s e e m s t h e y
h a v e n o t h a d a n o t h e r p u b l i c h a z i n g
s c a n d a l .
A
c o m p a r i s o n t o “ z e r o - t o l e r a n c e ”
p o l i c i e s , w h i c h h a v e b e e n a p p l i e d t o
a r a n g e o f i s s u e s i n c l u d i n g s c h o o l
d i s c i p l i n e , i l l e g a l d r u g s , a n d
v i o l e n c e a r e g e n e r a l l y i n t e n d e d t o
e x p r e s s t h e u n a c c e p t a n c e o f t a r g e t e d
b e h a v i o r s t h a t i f c o m m i t t e d , w i l l b e
s e v e r e l y p u n i s h e d n o m a t t e r h o w
m i n o r . B u t r e s e a r c h s u g g e s t s t h a t i t
i s i n e f f e c t i v e a t r e d u c i n g i s s u e s o f
v i o l e n c e , d i s r u p t i o n s , o r
m a i n t a i n i n g c l a s s r o o m s a f e t y a n d
p u n i t i v e m e a s u r e s s u c h a s e x p u l s i o n
a n d s u s p e n s i o n h a v e s h o w n t o b e
c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e a n d i n c r e a s e t h e
l i k e l i h o o d o f s t u d e n t s d r o p p i n g o u t
o f s c h o o l o r r e p e a t o f f e n s e s ( P a r k s
a n d M u t i s y a , 2 0 1 9 , 7 5 ) .
B u t t o c l a r i f y , m e m b e r s o f a n y
o r g a n i z a t i o n s h o u l d b e h e l d
a c c o u n t a b l e f o r a n y h a r m r e g a r d l e s s
i f a p l e d g e h a s “ c o n s e n t e d ” t o i t .
I t i s u n k n o w n i f C h i A l p h a D e l t a o r
T h e t a K a p p a P h i h a z e t h e i r p l e d g e s
b u t t h e A s i a n G r e e k C o u n c i l i s a w a r e
o f t h e s e l e g a l c o n s e q u e n c e s , a s t h e y
h a v e e x p l i c i t l y m e n t i o n e d t h e m i n
t h e A G C b y l a w s u n d e r A r t i c l e I V :
R e c r u i t m e n t , A r t i c l e V I : U n i v e r s i t y
R u l e s , a n d A r t i c l e V I I : H a z i n g .
C o n t i n u i n g , P a r k s & M u t i s y a ( 2 0 1 9 )
w h e n a n a l y z i n g t h e h a z i n g p r a c t i c e s
o f B l a c k s o r o r i t i e s e x p l a i n ,
“ I n d i v i d u a l s w h o r e m a i n
i n l e a d e r s h i p p o s i t i o n s
a n d w o r k t h e i r w a y u p t h e
l e a d e r s h i p l a d d e r a r e
u n l i k e l y t o h a v e a d e e p
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f w h y
h a z i n g e x i s t s a n d
p e r s i s t s w i t h i n t h e i r
o r g a n i z a t i o n ” ( P a r k s &
M u t i s y a , 2 0 1 9 , 5 5 - 5 6 ) .
T h e s a y i n g , “ H u r t p e o p l e h u r t
p e o p l e ” i s t r u e . P e o p l e w h o i n f l i c t
t r a u m a a r e m o r e l i k e l y t o h a v e
s u f f e r e d t h e s a m e t r a u m a t h e m s e l v e s
a n d t h i s i s h o w h a z i n g c u l t u r e i s
p e r p e t u a t e d . S t u d e n t s s u f f e r f o r
w e e k s o r m o n t h s t o b e p a r t o f a n
o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d t h e n s e e k f a i r n e s s
a n d m e n t a l r e p a r a t i o n s b y i n f l i c t i n g
t h e s e p r a c t i c e s o n t o t h e n e x t
g e n e r a t i o n ( F l y n n , 2 0 2 3 ) .
A s e c o n d c h a l l e n g e w a s t h a t i t w a s
e x t r e m e l y d i f f i c u l t t o f i n d p e o p l e
w h o w e r e w i l l i n g t o s p e a k a b o u t
t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s .
I n a d d i t i o n , w e g a v e p a r t i c i p a n t s
t h e o p t i o n t o d r o p o u t o f o u r
p r o j e c t a n d a l t e r o r d e l e t e t h e i r
e n t i r e s u b m i s s i o n w h i c h w e f e l t w a s
m o r a l l y a n d e t h i c a l l y n e c e s s a r y f o r
t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s t o f e e l s a f e e v e n
t h o u g h i t s e v e r e l y h u r t t h e r e s e a r c h
p r o c e s s . W e s p e c i f i c a l l y r e a c h e d o u t
t o r u s h e e s o r p e o p l e w h o a t t e n d p r e -
r u s h e v e n t s , b e c a u s e w e a s s u m e d t h e y
w o u l d b e m o r e w i l l i n g t o t a l k t o u s
t h a n t h e “ a c t i v e s ” .
W e c o u l d h a v e a t t e m p t e d t o s o l i c i t a
r e s p o n s e f r o m t h e C h i s , T h e t a s , a n d
O m e g a s , f r o m U C L A o r o n o t h e r
c a m p u s e s , b u t g i v e n o u r l e s s - t h a n -
s a v o r y i m a g e o f G r e e k l i f e i t w o u l d
b e u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e y w o u l d s p e a k t o
u s , a n d i f t h e y d i d , t h e y w o u l d m o s t
l i k e l y l i e a b o u t t h e i r p l e d g i n g
a c t i v i t i e s a n d o t h e r q u e s t i o n s a b o u t
t h e s o c i a l h i e r a r c h i e s w i t h i n t h e i r
o r g a n i z a t i o n s .
Conclusion
We hypothesized that Asian American Greek life is both a space of inclusion and exclusion. Asian American Greek organizations were formed to create parallel spaces for Asian Americans to create a community bsed in racial solidiarty, engage in traditional white American activities they were banned from, and point out the continuing social segregation in Greek life which is historically rooted in exclusion and racism, thus Asian Greek life is inclusionary.
However, it seems to be exclusionary in that Asian American fraternities and sororities seemed to unintentionally reproduce the same exclusionary and toxic tactics of their white counterparts. There is not much known about Asian American Greek life or its participants that is not secondary to predominantly white organizations and this points to future areas of research that would benefit our understanding of Asian American communities and Asian Americans in higher education settings.
References
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About the Authors
Both Jillian and Haley are third-year transfer students. Jillian is majoring in sociology and working to declare an Asian American Studies minor (or potentially double major). Haley is majoring in Asian American studies, and both met through Nikkei Student Union (NSU), a Japanese American cultural and social organization at UCLA. They both embarked on this project for their first shared class together. Both briefly considered rushing for an Asian American sorority to find an Asian American community at UCLA but found their home in NSU. Their interest in Asian American Greek life came from their little knowledge about its development and structure, and both hope you find their project compelling and learned something new about Asian American student life on campus.
