All it took was a midsummer ‘Crips and Blood’-themed party for the NAACP to jump headfirst into the world of Greek life.
The Dartmouth College chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People lashed out at the school’s Alpha Delta fraternity and Tri-Delta sorority for hosting a ‘ghetto party’ earlier this summer. The chapter also plans to join forces with several other campus organizations, including the Greek Letter Associates and Societies (GLOS) and the Greek Leadership Council (GLC), to push for policy changes within the school’s Greek community.
“Both [Dartmouth’s Office of Pluralism and Leadership] and GLOS will be supporting the community of Greek organizations in addressing these issues, including possible policy development and member education activities,” the OPAL said in a statement on its website. “Several student organizations, working closely with the NAACP and other student organizations at Dartmouth, will also participate in developing these restorative efforts.”
Although both of the Greek houses involved in throwing the party have since apologized, the NAACP is still upset over the party’s concept, which highlighted two of the most well-known and dangerous Los Angeles street gangs. The organization hopes to work with the university to carry out policies that would end racially themed parties in the future.
“Our peers mingled for hours while dressed as bloods or crips while using racialized language,” the college’s NAACP chapter wrote in an email that was picked up by the campus website Dartblog. “It then turned into a ‘ghetto party’ with racialized language, speech and dress. Over 200 individuals attended this racist and classist event.”
Alpha Delta also wrote a letter to Dartblog apologizing for the party. “While there was never any ill intent in the party’s theme, the brothers of Alpha Delta now realize that it was insensitive and thoughtless to make light of a very serious issue that affects many people nationwide, particularly young people,” the letter said.
