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Jackson State Greeks Cap New Members at 50

By Jocelyn Stamps
Black College Wire

Jackson State University's Panhellenic Council has imposed a membership cap of 50 new members on the eight active fraternities and sororities on campus.

According to Cathy Patterson, coordinator of Greek affairs at the Jackson, Miss., school, the council voted during the fall semester to limit the number of members an organization can admit during the intake process. Each active fraternity and sorority has a representative on the council, and the measure is now part of the Panhellenic Council constitution.

"The Pan Council felt that this number was more manageable and would foster the development of more brotherly and sisterly relationships," Patterson said.

She said other colleges and universities were surveyed to determine which ones have membership limits and how they had been affected. "Some schools are happy with the caps and some are not, but it is something that other HBCUs do," Patterson said.

Panhellenic representatives were not asked how they voted, but some of their members were clearly vocal about the limit.

James Gordon, an elementary education major from Colewater, Miss., and a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, said that, "If there are more than 50 people that are qualified and are in good standing with the university, they should not be denied the right to participate."

Ashley Davis, a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and a biology/pre-med major from Natchez, Miss., agreed. "There may be more than 50 that are qualified and if I were in that number, I wouldn't want to be overlooked because of a cap and I knew I had what it takes," she said.

LaRicky Robinson, a Zeta Phi Beta sorority member, said: "More females are interested in pledging than males, and if 60 people wanted to pledge and were qualified, we would take them." Robinson is an elementary education major from Canton, Miss.

John Swope, an English major from Phoenix, and the only member of Iota Phi Theta fraternity at Jackson State, said he felt such decisions should be left up to the individual organization.

However, several members of other Greek organizations said they were ambivalent about the limit because they traditionally have a small number of members and would be unaffected.

"The value of our fraternity is not in numbers, but in men," said James Jones, an English major from St. Louis and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Bennie Crayton, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, said the membership limit was a good idea for some sororities known for their large numbers.

"From a male standpoint, the cap has no bearing on us. It is good for females -- it will help them narrow things down," Crayton said. "It's not good to have large numbers. A group loses its luster with large numbers."

Non-Greek students also had mixed feelings.

"Fifty is a pretty decent number to stop at," said Darrian Billups, a broadcast journalism student from Dallas. I don't feel it is right, though, to disregard a person who meets the qualifications based on a cap."

Talamieka McNeil, a graduate student from Jackson, said, "I think 50 is a good number because it creates competition among pledges and leaves a better pool of candidates to choose from. In addition, it will make those who don't make the initial cut work harder and reevaluate themselves."

Membership intake activities must take place between Jan. 10 and Feb. 21.

The active groups at Jackson State are Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma, Omega Psi Phi and Iota Phi Theta. Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity is inactive on the campus.

Jocelyn Stamps is a student at Jackson State University who writes for The Blue and White Flash.

Posted Jan. 10, 2005