Q + A with Kappa Alpha Order President Lowery Crews
Robert Proudfoot
Are you Kappa Alpha or Kappa Alpha Order?
Kappa Alpha Order
What is a closed party? An open party?
Actually our national organization does not allow us to have open parties. We have a strict ratio of three guests to one member. And we are required to have a guest list at our front door. We aren't allowed to have anyone into the party that isn't on the guest list.
Would the goal of a KA Fraternity party on the weekend be to strengthen the brotherhood or allow the Vanderbilt community a place to socialize?
It is mostly to strengthen the brotherhood. We would love to have activities that included the whole Vanderbilt Community. Our risk management policy doesn't allow us to do that at a social function where alcohol is present. We have charity events and other activities were alcohol is not present that are open to the entire school.
At your closed parties, would you support the inclusion of the Vanderbilt undergraduate community?
Liability issues are the main reason we have to follow these guidelines. Every member of our organization is required to get involved in a non-Greek organization on campus. We want our members to get out and meet people in the Vanderbilt community. From there, if they have friends in other organizations they can add them to the guest list. That is how we incorporate more students.
What is the reason for the guest list?
It is to control the crowd (who's in, who's not). It reduces our liability.
Does Kappa Alpha Order fully endorse the guest list policy of the IFC? Do you have any comments?
Yes. I think that the IFC policy is a good because there is so much liability. It is a way to limit the negative incidents that can occur. Our national policy is similar and even goes a little bit further in its restrictions.
Your national policy is slightly stricter than the IFC policy?
Correct.
Could any freshmen male attend your parties in the past month?
We have our rush list that is a part of our guest list. If a freshman is not on the guest list, then they are not allowed in. IFC sponsored fraternity rounds this semester which provided an opportunity to meet guys. That is how freshmen get on the guest list. Actually we had some guys that came to our party last weekend and we had to say "Sorry, we have non-alcoholic rush activities which allow you to meet the brothers. Attending those activities is how you get on the guest list."
Do you have any open parties planned in the future?
No. Strict rules from our national organization state that we are prohibited under any circumstances from being able to have open parties (were alcohol is present).
Does your admittance policy change in the second semester for fraternity parties?
At any point in time a member can add a friend or acquaintance. So from time to time our list has changed.
There has been a rumor that KA discriminates against minorities. What's your reaction to that?
I think that it is a stereotype that has existed for a number of years and is a result of misconceptions and the reputation of past members who were eventually kicked off campus. Since we have come back on campus, we have done everything possible to erase those negative stereotypes. We don't discriminate and anyone is allowed to come to a party that is a friend of a member.
Are rumors about racial discrimination true for social events true?
Not at all, if they are on the guest list they are more than welcome to come in.
Does KA actively invite minorities to parties (alcohol events)?
I cannot say specifically how many minorities on our guest list. If someone was to submit a name, there would be no question "Is he a minority?" That's never a factor. But also for our fraternity parties there are no real open invitations just because of our risk management policy. That's why we don't use banners to promote our parties because we don't want to give people the impression that they can just come in.
Is KA taking and is it going to take any steps to curb this rumor of racial prejudice? Can you take any steps?
I think so. I think it is just a matter of getting out into the Vanderbilt Community and getting involved with other organizations that are predominately made of minority members. We did something last semester with BSA and we've had an activity in the past with the Multicultural Students Association. We've got some plans in the works for this semester to continue to involve minority and non-greek organizations.
What is the story behind the cannon on the front porch?
There's all kinds of stories, they come from various alumni saying where it came from. It just something that some of the members brought back years ago. Little piece of history. No racial connotation.
What is its history?
I have no idea exactly where the cannon came from. It's been here since KA has been on campus. I don't really know the history of that. It has no affiliation with the confederate army to my knowledge. And it's not used as decoration for that purpose by any means.
KA to some degree is considered a Southern fraternity. So how do you distinguish from Southern tradition and its past. What distinctions do you draw?
KA was founded at Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. That's where the southern roots come from. Robert E. Lee was the president of WA college at the time of KA's establishment. Robert E. Lee was never a member. Some students approached him and wanted to start a fraternity and it was with his leadership and guidance as president of the college led the founding members in the direction of southern gentleman.
Do you have any Black men in your fraternity?
No African American members at this time.
As far as I've been a member there has never been an instance where someone has said I don't want this person to join because he's a minority. It's never been an issue we have to deal with. I don't know if perhaps it's because of the negative stereotypes that come with KA or maybe people are afraid to come over and feel that they might not be accepted. Hopefully, that is not the case and if so hopefully this article will make people aware that they are more than welcome as minorities to rush and to if you know a brother to attend the parties. I can't speak for things work on other campuses but at Vanderbilt I feel like a lot of the freshmen migrate towards a fraternity where members are from their high school or region of the country. Also, I know that we have some great NPHC fraternities on campus and, with their recruitment, I don't know how interested the minorities are in joining a predominantly white organization. I think there are a lot of factors involved but it is definitely not discrimination by any means.
Surely you must see the paradox of the IFC Alcohol Policy and Greek Life's mission to provide a social outlet for Vanderbilt students. To limit liability, the guest lists restrict the attendees of your party to only people that are invited. On the other hand, it is impossible to invite individuals that have never met a KA member. How are minorities supposed to attend KA and other fraternity events if they never know anyone?
That's why we encourage our members to get involved in other organizations so they do meet people outside the fraternity and we're very integrated with campus. We host non-alcoholic events where we advertise in the Hustler and on the Wall. Just try to promote it for anyone on campus. Just recently we had one for the hurricane and we have a philanthropy dodgeball tournament every year. It's predominantly Greek participation but we did have some non-Greeks who participated. Last year was the first one so we're hoping to expand it and get more participation. Our dodgeball tournament is scheduled for November 4th. It will be held in the Student Rec Center.
Is the whole female undergraduate population on KA's guest list?
No. We try to create a guest list for every event a week in advance and it's usually just adding names that we've forgotten. It's difficult to get everyone that we know to get to the party, we always unintentionally leave someone out. But if there's someone that comes up to our door that is not on the guest list and they phone someone inside the party, a member, that simply forgot to add their name. As long as we don't an excess of guests then they're allowed to come in. The guest list is not a perfect process, but it is a requirement nonetheless.
Versus has conducted a study to see if KA allows minorities into your fraternity parties. We found, as is consistent with other fraternities, that any female could enter a fraternity party, regardless of race. Additionally, we found that males, in general, could not enter the fraternity party unless knowing a brother. These policies are consistent with other fraternity houses and follow the IFC Alcohol Policy. We found that there was no racial discrimination. Do you have any comments about this study Versus conducted?
I'm pleased to hear that none of the fraternities on this campus discriminate against minorities. Without knowing the specifics of the study and the accuracy, it's just difficult to comment on the study.
With the study we did, every female that we brought up to the fraternity house, be it whatever race they are, got in. And they weren't on the guest list. It seems like the IFC allows any female into any party, is that right?
I can't speak for IFC or any of the other organizations but just to comment. I'm not sure how other fraternities use their guest lists, especially as far as females go. It wouldn't surprise me if your studies found that there are more restrictions on letting males in as opposed to females just because their organizations are 100 percent male and would rather have more females at the party than more males.
But if we have the guest list and none of these people had any way of contacting anyone inside, but they were let in. It seems to me that there are some issues maybe with those two weekends with allowing people who shouldn't have gotten in.
Obviously there are probably people who get in the party every weekend who are not on the guest list just as an oversight, the person working the door just may feel uncomfortable turning anyone away, don't want to make anyone mad of course. If the study was conducted in the first couple of weeks, there was definitely more leeway in those first few weeks just because it's the beginning of the semester. Obviously we don't know all the freshmen females so it's difficult if they want to attend a party. We don't necessarily know all their names. The first couple of weeks with transfer students and there are a lot of new students at the school.
In the future let's say that you have party, could any undergraduate female walk up to a party and get in?
No.
Any further comments?
I'm pleased that you guys are writing this article. It's an issue that we're sort of hesitant to talk about just because we don't exactly know how to go about addressing it. We don't want to seem like we're out promoting something just to make us look good. We had a president's retreat earlier in the year and I was able to interact on a more personal level with the NPHC fraternity and sorority presidents and they actually confronted me about some of the racial stereotypes and I was able to explain to them and things were so much more clear after that. It's just a matter of it being difficult for us to go up to them and address the issues. But if they come to us, we're very receptive to their opinions and want to clarify things as best as possible. They're hosting a stomp fest later in the semester that we're participating in on October 13th at 7:00 pm. We actively participate in their philanthropy events and we encourage them to do the same in ours.
Do you feel the guest list restricts your ability to outreach to other parts of the community?
I think the IFC alcohol policy is setup in a way to limit the liability on fraternities and I think there are other things that we can do to open up our parties to more involvement to minority students.
To some degree your hands are tied, right?
To some degree they're tied, but I don't think that we can blame that on the alcohol policy. I think it's a campus wide issue in the sense of groups not interacting with one another. I think that some of the minorities have their own organizations and there are some organizations that are predominantly white and the more we can do to interact with those would go a long way in solving any issues with people being on guest lists and that sort of thing. I just think a party serving alcohol is not the place to address that issue, the issue of non-member attendance at parties. It would be easier to address that issue in a non-alcoholic setting.
Does KA have any plans to have a black fraternity member soon?
That's not necessarily something we can plan but if any African American freshmen or even an older member expressed that interest and was actively involved in rush and made that effort, he would certainly not be discriminated against because of his race. Our membership states that a person admitted to our organization must be favorably voted upon by 100 percent of the members of the fraternity. As long as any individual got to know enough of the brothers, he would be more than welcome to join.