Greek life has long played a role in the social lives of students at the University of Delaware. In this section, students and faculty discuss their experiences with the campus’s fraternities and sororities as well as the relationship between the Black community and Greek life on campus.
Jay Reed interviewing Gai Allen 1
In this clip, Gai Allen describes “stepping,” a traditional practice of Black fraternities and sororities. Allen discusses the differences between the ways fraternities and sororities practiced stepping during the late seventies and also provides several specific examples.
Jay Reed interviewing Gai Allen 2
Gai Allen discusses the founding of Alpha Kappa Alpha in 1977, which was the second Black sorority at the University of Delaware. She also discusses some of the events leading up to the founding of the sorority as well as her own initiation in 1978.
Reid Barrow interviewing Sharon Bryant
Sharon Sheridan Bryant is known as one of the founding mothers of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority’s chapter at the University of Delaware. In this clip, she describes some of the red tape surrounding the establishment of a second African American Greek society on campus. She describes a meeting in her room at the towers where a group of women came together to sign the charter, and tension with the University of Delaware administration, which questioned why they wanted a second African American Greek organization on campus.
Chris Barnwell interviewing Wayne Crosse
In this clip, Wayne Crosse is speaking about his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, after the conclusion of the Vietnam War. At the time, much of the campus had a bad opinion of fraternities, but his decided they were proud of their fraternity and would wear their colors around campus. He then states how other fraternities began to join along, and how he felt that his fraternity helped build fraternity confidence and pride. He also speaks about collaborating in intramural sports with other fraternities.
Chris Barnwell interviewing Thelma Hinds
Thelma Hinds speaks about wearing metaphorical masks, or hiding who you truly are when around certain people. She states that African Americans during the mid 1970s were forced to wear these masks all around campus and in every aspect of their lives, finding escape and an opportunity to be themselves in certain environments like fraternities and sororities, the Black Student Union, and through the African American paper.
Roger Horowitz interviewing James Newton
In this clip, Dr. James Newton discusses a racist incident that occurred at a fraternity on campus and the University administration’s response.
