Ari - Intro

       In late September of 2020 a University of Georgia (UGA) student, Arianna Mbunwe, tweeted a thread of screenshots exposing UGA’s Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity chapter for discussing racist, sexist, and homophobic content about her and her statements on Twitter. That thread and the subsequent reactions and responses to it went viral, and within days, UGA released a statement on Twitter admonishing the “outrageous and offensive comments involving members of a student organization.” However, from an institutional perspective - no action seemed to be taken. If anything, the response from UGA’s Equal Opportunity Office (EOO) engaged in victim-blaming and trafficked in the idea of “reverse racism.” Mbunwe and others aware of the situation called for a legitimate apology from the organization, expulsion of the members involved, and a permanent disbanding of the fraternity chapter at UGA. Lambda Chi Alpha’s statement indicated they would self-suspend indefinitely and the national chapter apologized on the UGA chapter’s behalf, but neither UGA’s EOO nor Lambda Chi Alpha have reached out to Mbunwe personally or fully stated the university’s connection – or lack thereof – with UGA’s Greeklife members.

       While Mbunwe was very forthcoming about the very details and events of what transpired in the days - and even weeks – following the tweets and emails with UGA’s EOO and the Lambda Chi Alpha chapter, there was still much to be said about UGA’s and Panhellenic’s performance in handling her case specifically, and with UGA’s maintenance of EOO cases as a whole. What follows next is an interview with Mbunwe about - not only her current experiences with UGA and Greek life - but her past experiences and her future endeavors in approaching flawed systems that dares to be challenged and amended. 

 

Ari - Interview Transcript

*The contents of this interview have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

 

Q: Why did you decide to take action against racism in Greek Life now? What compelled you to make that decision?

A: At the beginning of 2020, I had a personal experience of racism that I had to say something about. I was fed up with how the university reacted to instances like those and did not want my experience to go unnoticed or be pushed away. So I decided to say something and keep fighting for a response.

 

Q: What has been the biggest struggle in this fight? What has been the biggest reward or the thing you are most proud of through all of this?

A: Right now, my biggest struggle has been figuring out what’s next. The EOO’s response to the Lambda texts was very unhelpful and I didn’t really know where to turn. I started wondering what my next step was. What was going to happen to the people who did these things? I have realized that the fight is not over yet.

The most rewarding part of all of this has been having support from people in the community who are seeing me fight. It is rewarding to see other people be inspired by my story and tell their stories of instances of racism in Greek life.

 

Q: How has your image in the community and on campus changed? Have your experiences been bad or good with that?

A: I have been recognized on campus and at my job. So far it never feels invasive or weird. I am open to conversations with people who approach me. I do feel like there is an expectation that I will act a certain way on Twitter now that I have a larger audience, but it’s my personal Twitter in the end.

 

Q: What advice do you have for people who want to speak out against an incidence of racism or something seen in Greek Life?

A: Don’t expect the university to be very helpful or to represent your best interest. Employees are meant to represent the university and may not take your case very seriously.

Try to have a good support system through the process because it will take a long time.

Be prepared to have someone represent you if it comes to it.

Stay focused on your goal and keep pushing for that end goal.

Social media was a type of insurance for my words. I used the publishing of the EOO emails to show the reality of what was going on. Twitter created a community of people who had had similar experiences. I received a better response from the EOO after making their response public on social media. That was helpful for me.

 

Q: Would we still be having these conversations if you hadn’t spoken out?

A: Maybe not this semester but it was inevitable. It may just not have been to the same extent or as fast. In the past there weren’t positive conclusions to these reports. I do hope that it will happen eventually. My twitter already had momentum, so I had the audience that was necessary for the national coverage that it received.

 

Q: What was your understanding of Greek Life before you came to college? Did you ever consider being in a sorority? 

A: I grew up in a predominantly white town and one of the only Black kids at my school. However, I didn’t know anything about Greek life before coming to college. Once in senior year a teacher offered the class recommendations for sororities, which was my first time even hearing about them. I also had heard about sorority rush from dorm mates in my hall freshman year. I never became involved in Greek life, I did briefly think about the rush process and considered rushing sophomore year, but decided not to because of the cost. I did have friends who were in one freshman year, but they have dropped out since then. I do not see sororities in a positive light because of experiences from other friends who were in sororities in the past. I never really felt welcomed in sorority houses the few times I was inside and I do not see obvious racial diversity in Panhellenic sororities. I have noticed that any Black women in sororities are more racially ambiguous or “racially palatable.”

 

Q: Where do you think UGA Greek Life will be in the next 10 years? Is it enough to diversify Greek life or is abolition the answer? Is reform enough? What is next for UGA Greek Life?

A: White Greek life came from wanting to be white societies, so they are based on racial exclusion. There are so many institutional problems with Greek life that will not be fixed from just having racial diversity. To increase diversity, you cannot just recruit more POC, but also have reduced fees and sensitivity training, as well as making it more accessible to people in general. I feel particularly upset about tokenism in Greek life, as “proof” that they are fixing things. Greek life is past the point of using diversity to fix these institutional issues. Alumni have a loud voice, so it is not just up to the students. I do believe that abolition is the answer, and I sit on a board for abolition of Greek life. To pour more money into a system that is beyond repair is useless. Greek life’s philanthropic activity does not outweigh the harm they cause in the surrounding communities, like with COVID/ partying in Clarke county.

I also hear a lot of discourse in Young Dems on being good actors in bad situations. Some people in Greek Life are trying to fix it from the inside, which just reminds me of the argument of “good cops in a bad system.”

I encourage people to admit when they’re wrong, rather than trying to justify and excuse their decisions.

 

Q: What is your next step?

A: I am currently waiting for responses from UGA on COVID. I am still in communication with the university on their responses to COVID and racism. I do post DMs from people, so if I don’t  get DMs then there is not much for me to share, as far as incidences that are occurring in Athens and on campus.

 

Q: What if your current call for action from the Athens community and UGA?

A: Mandatory COVID testing, and more available testing. Justice for RA’s during the pandemic, and increasing awareness of their mistreatment. Holding students accountable as far as testing and risky behaviors (going downtown). Increase in remote learning. Hold students accountable for racism.

 

Ari - Conclusions

       As a present activist taking a critical lens to UGA’s negligence in response to acts of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia (and all intersections of these areas), Ari Mbunwe offered insight into the future of Greek life. While the topic of conversation focused on her correspondence with the EOO, it is undeniable that UGA’s EOO, UGA as an academic institution, and UGA’s Panhellenic and IFC chapters are all inextricably linked, allowing for an insight into the response of these organizations as a whole. Through our knowledge as critical feminists - and made clearer through speaking with Mbunwe - it is apparent that these topics must be approached at an institutional level as they are deeply entrenched in decades of systematic racism and oversight. With that in mind, it was understandable when Ari spoke of her struggle with finding a “next step” - whether it be taking legal action, continue spreading her message through the power of social media, or deciding what is the best way to advocate for other current events - such as the current COVID-19 pandemic - that UGA has grossly neglected their role in. As to the future of Greek life here at UGA - and as a whole - it seems that the only likely option for these organizations rooted in whiteness, privilege, and exclusion is true abolition.

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